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BEQLK.ST UNIVERSITY „, MICHIGAN t GKNERAL I.IBKARY
^r4h»«l«flia Cambrfitsis,
JOURNAL
Cflmtirian liT|tfnlngiwl iMnrintinn.
VOL. VIII. SIXTH SERIES.
LONDON:
CHAS. J. CT>ARK, 65, CHANCERY LANE. W.C.
1908.
LONDON ; BEDFORD PRBSS, 20 AND 21, BEDFORDBITBT, W.O.
* • ■»
CONTENTS.
The Early Settlers of Anglesey
Roman Cardiff ....
Cambrian Arcbadological Association :
Sixty -First Annual Meeting .
The Early Settlers of Anglesey
TheFlemishBeli of St Nicholas at Nicholas- ton Church, Gower
The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh
The Excavations at Din Lligwy
Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, Pentraeth
Au Island of the Saints
Antiquities on the Sandhills at Merthyr
Mawr, Glamorganshire Glazed Pebbles in .an Old Building near
Llanbedr, Merionethshire The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh Cambrian Archsoological Association :
Balance Sheets The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh
Tintem Abbey
The Bryngwyn Tumuli
Professor Anwyl John Ward
Professor Anwyl
G. E. Halliday . A. N. Palmer E. N. Baynes Harold HugheR . Rev. W. D. Bushell
Af. Evanson
C. E. Breese A. N. Palmer
A. N. Palmer
J. G. Wood P. Stapleton
PAQB
1 29
66 121
149 155 183 211 237
261
267 273
298 305
345 859
Monumental Efi&gies, Pembrokeshire
E. Laws and E. H. Edwards 377
Berw ..... 387
Reviews ..... 110, 221, 284, 395
abghjioloaical notbs and queries . 114, 227, 287, 400
Obituary :
Richard Henry Wood, P.S.A., P.R.G.S. . . 300
William Trevor Parkins, M.A. .302
SUPPLEMENT. Rev. J. Skinner's Tour through Anglesey.
JUlIN KnMII.I.Y AIXEN, F.S.A., ami KS.A. .Scot. Edihir i)f Ai-ckitolwjUi CiimbniiMs, 188r-l«07.
^rtltaMkgiai d^amlrr^n^i^.
SIXTH SERIES.— VOL. VIII, PART I.
JANUARY, 1908. THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
Bt PROFB880B ANWYL
The present paper is the fifth of a series by the writer on the pre-Roman inhabitants of Wales. The pre- ceding papers have dealt with the early settlers of the counties of Brecon, Carnarvon, Cardigan, and Car- marthen. It is the aim of the author to collect together the evidence as to the life of prehistoric man in each district, so that it may serve as a basis for further investigation, both by the Association as such and by local societies. It is exceedingly gratifying to see the growth in various parts of Wales of local antiquarian societies, which are studying the antiquities of their various neighbourhoods with zeal and intelligent in- terest. It would be a great advantage if a similar society were formed in Anglesey. In this island we have a district not only rich in prehistoric remains, but also one where, on the whole, these remains have been well preserved, through a certain tradition of respect, it may be, for the venerable remains of early man. Nor is Anglesey remarkable merely for the preservation of its ancient monuments, but it is a pleasure to note that in this county the remains themselves have been ob- served and studied by antiquaries of high distinction with the greatest industry and intelligence. The pages of the Archoeologia Cambrensis from the very first bear
6th sbb., vol. Tm. 1
2 THB EARLY SBtTLERS OF AKGLBSfiY
eloquent testimony to this unwearied zeal for kno^ir- ledge of the past. The names of the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, senior, and Mr. W. Wynn Williams, junior, of the Hon. William Owen Stanley, Mr. Albert Way, Professor Babington, the Rev. E. L. Barnwell, Rev. H. Longueville Jones, Mr. J. E. Griffith, Mr. J. Lloyd Griffith, and last, but not least, the Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam, whose long span of human life has just ended, are all distinguished by most valuable contributions to our knowledge of early man in Anglesey, and through Anglesey in the rest of Wales. Nor should we forget the very useful service rendered to these studies by Mr. John E. Griffith, F.LS, through the publication of his reproductions of the photographs of the cromlechs of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire, and the recent excava- tions at Din Llugwy by Lord Boston and Mr. Baynes. There is thus a rich supply of material, much of which is fortunately derived from actual excavation, as in the case of the Holyhead hut circles, from which we can reconstruct the life of the various strata of early man in Anglesey. The chief difficulty, which may be re- moved by further excavation, is that of discovering the precise chronological relations of these remains, and the true sequence of civilization in the various parts of the island. Here, as in other districts, the spread of civilization over a given area was never quite uniform. In ancient as well as in modern times the economic value of soil and situation have varied, and the pur- chasing power of all persons and tribes was no more equal then than now. Through Anglesey there passed in remote times, as at present, an important trade route to Central Ireland ; and certain parts of the island, too, seem to have been centres of metallurgical industry, due to the copper ore found within it. The traces of this industry will engage our attention later. Nor should it be forgotten in these researches that Anglesey is an island, and that powerful invasions en masse into an island are difficult. Hence it may legitimately be surmised that the history of civilization here in early
1
times has been comparatively continuous, without violent interruptions. This appears to be indicated, also, by the overlapping of the civilization of the Bronze Age with the Stone Age that preceded it, by the development of the cromlech burial into some of its later and more elaborate forms, by the long continuance of the use of bronze into the Late- Celtic and even the Homan period, and also by the curious fusion, even in settlements of Roman times, of Celtic and Roman civilization. The earlier type of dwelling seems, too, to have survived even into Roman times. It may also be regarded as highly probable that, in this protected and isolated district, the original stock continued to pre- dominate from the Neolithic period. Had there been no Glacial periods, we should doubtless here have had the descendants of Palaeolithic man himself, who is thought by some to have resembled in type the Eskimo pr the Mongol. It would be a great service to British archaeology if there could be made for Anglesey, as for Pembrokeshire, a thorough archaeological survey, com- bined with an ethnological survey, for the purpose of classifying the types of the inhabitants. After this archaeological survey, a careful comparison would be desirable of the Anglesey remains with those of Ireland on the one hand, and with those of Pembrokeshire, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany on the other. The comparison with Ireland would be most important for the Bronze Age, while that for the other districts would be specially valuable with reference to the development of the cromlech and other Stone-Age remains. In these districts the Megalithic remains appear to have developed from simpler to more complex types ; and, in Brittany especially, the development towards greater complexity persisted even into the Bronze period. My attention was specially called to this last fact a few months ago by M. Hubert, the learned Sub- Director of the Mus^e St. Germain near Paris, who showed me the excellent models contained in that museum of some of the great Megalithic remains of Brittany. He told me
4 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF AXOLESEY
that bronze weapons had been found in conjunction with some of those remains, I believe those of Grav'r Innis.
In accordance with the method adopted in previous papers, I propose to deal first with the Stone-Age remains of Anglesey, then with those of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.
The undoubted Stone- Age remains of Anglesey are almost entirely confined to the environment of the early- settlers, not in life but in death. Though the island contains numerous clusters of hut-circles, that appear to be as primitive a type of dwelling as might well be imagined, yet it is by no means possible to assign any of these with certainty to the Stone Age, since this type of dwelling persisted far into the Bronze and even the Iron Age. The persistence was that of the type, not of the actual buildings. The excavations on Holy- head Mountain, with which the name of the late Mr. William Owen Stanley will always be honourably asso- ciated, show conclusively that most of the dwellings on that spot belong to the period when metals were known and worked in the island. The implements there found, too, suggest a vista of implements more primi- tive still, for even the cooking-stones, grain-crushers, and the like doubtless have behind them a long history. The dwellings, too, which wore partly underground, and the roofs of which were generally of boughs or turf, sup- ported by vertical or horizontal poles, doubtless repre- sent a long evolution from the natural shelter of the cave or the forest. Side by side, too, with the more stationary dwellings even of Neolithic times were the movable dwellings of tents, supplemented by sleeping- bags made of the skins of animals, for the art of sewing with thongs of skin and needles and piercers of bone goes back to very remote times. It is remarkable that early man in Anglesey should apparently have left none of these needles behind him. The traces, too, of Neolithic arrows seem in Anglesey to be very few and uncertain, perhaps because the ancient pre-Celtic
THE EARLY SETTLERlS OF ANOLKSEY 5
inhabitants regarded themselves in their island as one peaceful and nappy family, whose only enemies were across the Straits. None of the ancient fortifications of the island, either, could be truly said to belong to the Stone Age. It was only the later invader, perhaps, ^who taught the natives the need of such defences against his fellow-man. With regard to the environ- ment of the settlers of the Stone Age in life, we are thus left to conjecture their mode of living by the analogy of other localities and by the survival of the type of their dwelling, but the regard of the men of Anglesey for their illustrious dead has left us in no un- certainty as to the mode in which they honoured them. In certain countries of Western Europe, as well as in North Africa and Asia, there are extant numerous remains constructed of blocks and slabs of stone, which are generally termed Megalithic monuments. These are found in Europe in Spain and Portugal, in the western side of France, especially in Brittany, and in Britain in Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, South Glamorgan- shire, Breconshire, West Merioneth, Carnarvonshire, and Anglesey. These monuments are regarded by anti- quaries as the stony ekeletons of ancient mounds of earth, in which bodies were buried, so to speak, in arti- ficial caves. It may be questioned whether the humbler dead were always thus buried, because the construc- tion of a cromlech must have meant no small labour. Exactly how the cromlechs were constructed is un- certain, but the best monograph on the subject is that of Frederick VII, King of Denmark, which was re- printed in Arch. Camb. for 1862.
The capstone, which is always typical of the genuine cromlech, was probably pushed up a long inclined
f)lane of earth on rollers drawn by ropes of twisted lide, and then deposited in its exact place. One of the most interesting features connected with the Mega- lithic remains of Anglesey is the survival of traces of a more advanced evolution of the cromlech in the existence of double and probably multiple cromlechs,
6 THE EARLY SETTLKRS OF ANGLESEY
and also in some cases of a gallery or alignment leading to the sepulchral chamber. It is not impossible that in Anglesey, as in Brittany, some of these more elaborate forms are subsequent to the period of the introduction of bronze into Britain. The typical Bronze- Age burial is, indeed, in a tumulus (sometimes with a stone circle around it) with or without cremation, but in certain areas the Stone- Age Megalithic types may well have persisted in the forms of their later evolution. The exact relations between cromlech-burial, round barrow-burial, and urn-burial after cremation deserve even fuller investigation than they have yet received, and a careful study of the Anglesey remains might throw a welcome light on the solution of the problem. What then are the Anglesey data for the burials of the cromlech type ? It will be found on investigation that the Anglesey cromlechs are hardly ever of the simple single chamber tripod type, but present certain abnor- mal features, such as the number of their stone sup- ports, the traces of chambers which they present, the remains of galleries or vestibules or other features, such as the now semicircular remains of holes in the chambered tumulus at Plas Newydd, which indicate a fairly advanced stage of evolution. This may be seen from a consideration of the following points : —
1. The Trefignedd Cromlech, about IJ mile out on the road leading from Holyhead to Trearddur. — The late Hon. W. 0. Stanley, whose services to the archaeology of Anglesey are entitled to the highest respect, thought that it had been a covered chamber of about 20 ft. in length. The number of stones, as Mr. J. E. Griffith points out, certainly suggests that it was larger than an ordinary cromlech.
2. Ty Newydd. — This is in a field on the right-hand side of the road leading to Bodedern from Ty Croes Station. It is said to have been formerly a double cromlech. Mr. J. B. Griffith suggests, with reason, that possibly the two cromlechs were the remains of a large sculptured mound with a passage leading into it, similar to that of Bryn Celli Ddu. Here again we apparently have a cromlech of no ordinary or simple type.
3. Presaddfed. — This is in a field north-west of Presaddfed,close to the mansion and a mile from Bodedern, Mr, J. E. GriflSth
THE EARLY SBTTLKRS OP ANGLESEY 7
acutely suggests that this, too, may have been a double cromlech consisting of two chambers with an opening, as he thinks, to- wards the east. An opening was generally left for the introduc- tion of fresh burials.
4. Pentretraeth. — This is on a slight eminence in a wet, marshy place, near the banks of the Crigyll river, on the left hand of the road that leads to Pentretraeth Farm, near Llanfae- log. At present there are about fifteen of the largest stones left, and at one time there appear to have been many more. It is not improbable that here again we have the remains of a chambered tumulus of a developed form.
5. Penycnwc. — This is on a projecting rock called Penycnwc, which forms one side of Trecastell Bay, which is about If mile south of Ty Croes Station. It suggests the remains of a chambered tumulus, now in great measure destroyed.
6. Llugwy. — This is in a field on Llugwy Farm, on the left-hand of the road from Redwharfe to Llugwy Bay. The capstone rests on ten low- supports. This is an indication that its form is abnormal, and that it is probably the remnant of what was at one time a group of chambers.
7. Pantysaer. — This is at Pantysaer, in the parish of Llanfair Mathafarneithaf, about 6 miles east of Llangefni. This cromlech was described by Mr. W. Wynn Williams in the Arch, Camh. for 1875. He found within the chamber a number of human bones, along with bones of animals and shells. It is not improbable that this cromlech is a transitional form between the cromlech proper and the simple barrow of the Bronze Age.
8. Glyn, Llanbedrgoch. — This is in a field on Glyn Farm, on the left hand of a bye-lane leading to Llanbedrgoch from the main road from Pentraeth to Llanallgo. It is not of a very distinct type, and is now embedded in the earth. As Mr. J. E. GriflBth points out, it is not recorded in the Ordnance Map or the Arch. Camh. The precise features of this cromlech, if it be one, are uncertain.
9. Cremlyn, near Beaumaris. — This is on a plantation near Hafotty Farm, in the parish of Llansadwrn. If this W6w a cromlech, its size shows it to have been of no ordinary type.
10. Hendrefor, 1 and 2. — Here there are two cromlechs, not, however, contiguous, but possibly the remnants of a series. They are both on Hendrefor Farm, on the left hand of the road leading from Beaumaris to Pentraeth, and about 1 ^ mile from Llansadwrn Church. The second of these cromlechs has now fallen, but it was standing in 1802.
11. Ty Mawr (south-east view). — This is apparently a simple cromlech, whose capstone has fallen. It lies in a field near
8 THB EAKLY SETTLEHS OF AN(iLESEY
Pant Lodge, on the left of the road leading from Llanfair P. Q- to Four Crosses.
12. The Chambered Mound at PlasNewydd. — This is a most important structure, and is distinguished by two features of exceptional interest — (1) the tumulus surrounding it is still in existence, and (2) the stone occupying the lower half of the entrance contains two semicircular apertures, the remaining halves apparently of apertures which were once completely cir- cular. This interesting monument probably gives us a specimen of what several of the other cromlechs of Anglesey at one time were.
13. The Plas Newydd Cromlechs. — These are in the woods of Plas Newydd, close to the stables, and about 1^ mile from Llanfair Station. Here, again, we have no ordinary simple cromlech, but probably the remnants of a series of chambers in one mound.
14. The Bryn Celli Ddu Cromlech. — This is on a farm called Bryn Celli Ddu, in the parish of Llanddaniel, and is marked on the Ordnance Map as Yr Ogof (the Cave). It is about 1 J mile from Gaerwen Station. The uprights consist of six rude slabs. This cromlech is also most valuable through the liglit which it sheds on tlie formation of the galleries leading to the chambers of these mounds. Here the passage leading to the chambers underneath is about 18 ft. long, 3 ft. high, and 2J ft. in breadth. It is formed of four slabs on one side and five on the other, the interstices being filled with dry masonry, while the top is covered with rude slabs, which form the roof. Here we evidently have something very different from the ordinary simple cromlech, and a development not unlike in principle to the alignments of Brittany.
15. Perthi Duon. — This is on a farm called Perthi Duon, near Brynsiencyn. It may well be doubted whether this is a genuine cromlech.
.16. Bodowyr. — This is on Bodowyr Farm, on the right hand of the road that leads from Felin Bodowyr to Llangaffo. This may have stood alone, but it seems to indicate some advance on the simple form of cromlech in having five supports.
17. The Dinas Dindryfal Cromlech. — This is at the base of a precipitous rock called Dinas DindryfaL Mr. GriflSth thinks that it originally formed the side of a chamber, probably extending to the south-west of the cromlech. Here, again, if this be the case, we seem to have some later evolution of the cromlech type.
18. A Standing Stone at Dinas Dindryfal. — Mr. Griffith sug- gests that this may have formed part of a stupendous chamber.
THE MARLY SBTTLEBB OF ANGLESEY 9
19. Bod-deinioL — Here, again, we have not a single cromlech but two. They lie in a field west to the farmhouse of Bod- deiniol, which is situated at the right hand of the road leading from Llantrissant to Llanbabo. Both of these are no longer standing, and of the smaller of the two only a few stones are left.
It is not unworthy of consideration whether the main period of the Stone Age is well represented in Anglesey, even in the matter of burial places. Perhaps the island was only sparsely populated in the early and middle portions of the Neolithic epoch.
Before leaving the Neolithic period, it would be well to place on record the contributions that have been made to the elucidation of this phase of Anglesey antiquities. In addition to the contributions made by Pennant, by Rowlands in his Mona Antiqua, by Angharad Llwyd, and the MS. of Mr. Skinner, the following articles deserve honourable mention :
In the Arch. Camb. for 1846, p. 467, a correspondent calls attention to the Perthu cromlech, near Trefarthin or Brynshenkin* He says : " It is 9 ft. long, 7 ft. broad, and 2 ft. 8 ins. deep." He further says : ** About twenty years ago, brass or copper vessels were found in digging under it, when it fell down . . . one of which chisels was lately in the possession of Griffith Daniel, Twll-y-clawdd, Llanidan ; the others the Rev. Evan Lloyd, A.M., Rector of AberflFraw, purchased from the finders." There are still three upright stones stand- ing. The association of bronze implements with this monument is a most important fact, and it would be well if something further could be discovered of the history of this ** find." Perhaps the bronze implements themselves can still be traced.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1847, p. 3, there is a very full account of the Bryn Celli Udu cromlech, Anglesey. In this article the most gratifying statement is recorded that Mr. Charles Evans of Hen bias had given orders for surrounding it with a suitable fence, so that its further decay might be retarded as much as possible.
10 THE BARLY SEtTLERd OF ANGLESEY
The writer quotes in his article the accounts given of this cromlech by Rowlands in his Mona Antiqua (p. 93) and by Pennant (vol. ii, p. 62). After describing the present remains, the writer says : " The ground, how- ever, rises all around, making the base of a tumulus that now w^ould measure not more than 65 ft. or 70 ft. across ; and the occurrence of a large stone on the outer circumference of this rise would lead to the conjecture that originally it was surrounded by a circle of such blocks.*'
In a valuable account of the Early or prehistoric remains of Anglesey by H. Longueville Jones in the Arch. Camh, for 1854, p. 203, we have a list of the tumuli or carneddau in the southern part of Anglesey. The following may be mentioned here : —
1. A tumulus in the park at Plas Newydd, covering a crom- lech or stone chamber.
2. A double cromlech close to the house of Trefor, on the road from Beaumaris to Pentraeth, in a field on the south side of the road. They were erect not many years since, but were then thrown down by the tenant.
3. A double cromlech in the park at Plas Newydd. Mr. Jones says that traces of the carnedd of stones which once covered it are still visible.
4. The Bryn Celli Ddu Cromlech. — Mr. Longueville Jones says : ** It is now securely fenced off and preserved from future injury by the care of C. Evans, Esq., of Plas Gwyn, acting on behalf of the Marquis of Anglesey."
5. Cromlech near Llanidan Old Church, to the south-west. It is partly thrown down.
6. Cromlech at Bodowyr, near Llangaffo. — Of this Mr. Jones says : " This is one of the smallest cromlechau known, and is in admirable preservation." It is described in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association.
In a further article {Arch. Camh., 1855, p. 18) Mr. H. Longueville Jones dealt with the early remains in that part of Anglesey which is situated to the westward of the great natural depression in the surface of the island, once an arm of the sea, called the Malldraeth. The cromlechau which he mentions in this connection are the following : —
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 11
1. A cromlech, thrown down and partly injured of late by blasting, with traces of a carnedd of stones surrounding it, in a field adjoining a farmhouse of the same nature, half a mile west of Llanfechell Church.
2. A cromlech, thrown down on a hill near a farm called Bryn y Felin, half a mile south-east of Llanfairmathafarn Church.
3. A cromlech of large dimensions in the grounds of Llugwy, a quarter of a mile west of Llanallgo Church.
4. Two large cromlechs, at the south end of Llyn Lly wean, in the grounds of Presaddfed House. One has partially fallen down ; under the other cattle still shelter in bad weather. They have been described and engraved in the ArcfuBological JournaL
5. Cromlech. — In a field on the north side of the great Irish road, 1 mile north-east of Ceirchiog Church.
6. Two cromlechs, connected with each other by the remains of a stone passage, on a farm 2 miles south-east of Holyhead. They have been described in the Archceologlcal Journal, Some remains of urns and bodies were found within the sepulchral chambers. They are in good preservation, and stand close to the line of the Holyhead railroad, from which they are easily visible. The urns point distinctly to a Bronze-Age burial, but the resemblance to cromlechs proper is interesting as a link in the connection with the Stone Age.
7. Cromlech. — The doubtful remains of a cromlech are to be observed on an eminence in a rocky field, east of the road lead- ing to Plas Milo, about 2 miles south-west from Holyhead.
8. Cromlech. — In a field near the sea-coast, 1 mile north-west of Rhoscolyn Church.
9. Cromlech. — In a field near the Sandy Common, 1 mile north-north-west of Llanfaelog Church.
10. Cromlech, on a projecting piece of land called Penycnwc, overhanging the sea, 2 miles south of Llanfaelog Church.
11. Cromlech, on the side of a hill north of Bodwrdyn, 2 J miles south-west of Cerrig Ceinwen Church.
12. Henblas: J mile south of the house and 2 miles south of Cerrig Ceinwen Church. This is the most gigantic cromlech in Great Britain. It consists of three stones, the uppermost of which has fallen off the other two to the westward. It was approached by an avenue of stones from the south-east, which, as Mr. Jones was told on the spot in 1846, by the man who did it, were buried by him, just as they stood, in order to disencum- ber the surface of the ground. The stones of the cromlech are so vast that it may almost be doubted whether they were ever raised by man, the uppermost stone being about 20 ft. by 18 ft. and 10 rt. thick ; and the side one being nearly double of it in cubical extent.
12 THE EABLY SRTTLERS OP ANGLESEY
I have seen this cromlech, and do not think that it can possibly be entirely artificial. It has occurred to me, however, that advcintage was taken of natural blocks of stone to construct in conjunction with them a place of burial, and it is not impousible that the same method was adopted elsewhere. The question of the nature of certain of the cromlechau of Anglesey occupied the Cambrian Archaeological Association at its Bangor Meeting of 1860. On pp. 364 and 865 of the Arch. Camb. for that year, we have an account of the excur- sions then made to certain of these cromlechau. The first to be visited was the Bryncelli cromlech, of which the report says : *' A numerous company started at the usual time, making their first halt at Bryncelli, a farm near Henblas, on which remains one of the most per- fect specimens of the sepulchral chamber, usually termed a cromlech. It has been surrounded by a wall for the sake of protection ; but, unfortunately, the enclosed space is so choked up with briars and shrubs that access is not very pleasant, and examination not easy." The report further says : " In Rowlands's time there appears to have been a similar structure close by it, but long since removed, probably even before Pen- nant's time, for he only mentions one carnedd. In this instance at Bryncelli we have a nearly perfect specimen, still retaining on the covering-stone» the re- mains of the carnedd which once covered the whole structure. The base of the original tumulus may be traced out from the rising of the ground, and this base would have measured between 60 ft. and 70 ft." Then follows a description of the cromlech.
Of the Bodowyr cromlech, the report says : " The remains of the sepulchral chamber of Bodowyr, being difficult of access, were inspected by only a few of the most active of the party. One covering-stone and three or four uprights are all that remain of what was probably a chamber and gallery, similar to that of Bryncelli." Then, on p. 367 (for the same year), we have a description of the Plas Newydd remains. Of
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 13
these, the report says : ** The first of these is a large but not very lofty tumulus. A partial excavation has been made on the western side of the mound, which has laid bare what may be the commencement of a network of chambers, which probably extend over the whole of the tumulus. By stooping, a short passage may be traversed which branches off to the left and right, but further advance is prevented by an accumu- lation of rubbish and other debris. The entrance to the passage is half closed by a slab, which appears to be the lower half of a larger slab, the other half being now lost/' With reference to the holes, the report says : " Similar examples of these holes occur else- where, as in the celebrated chamber of GavV Innis, where in one of the monolithic supporters of the roof are three such holes which open into another chamber not yet explored." Next, the report deals with the Plas Newydd cromlechs : ** Within a little distance, near the mansion, stand the well-known cromlechs of Plas Newydd, two in number, and of unequal sizes. The capstone of the larger one is of great thickness. The entrances of both face towards the west, in which direction no doubt ran the galleries that probably formed a part of the more complete structure, when covered with a tumulus, traces of which may still be made out. Possibly in these two cromlechs we have only the relics of a larger group, such as may be found one day to exist under the neighbouring tumulus." On p. 368 we have an account of the discussion that followed, in which Mr. Clark, Mr. Octavius Morgan, and Mr. W. W. E. Wynne took part. In speaking of the Plas Newydd tumulus and cromlechs, Mr. Clark gave an account of what he had himself seen in India as to the means by which enormous masses of stone were placed in elevated positions without the aid of scaffolding or complicated machinery. The practice still remained of burying a building in the course of erection in a mound of dry earth with an easy slope, up which very large stones could be dragged by main
14 THE EARLY SE1TLEB8 O^ AKOLEfitlT
force. He mentioned particularly a tomb near Poonah, where the process had gone on within the last ten years in the midst of a large European station. It was probable that the larger capstones of cromlechs were raised in the same manner. The soil which composed the inclined plane would afterwards serve for the basis of the mound over the cromlech. Part was also taken in this discussion by a distinguished visitor, Professor Simpson, of Edinburgh, but he confined himself almost entirely to the question of old British habitations. In the temporary museum of the same year there were exhibited two stone implements found at Llanfairyn- ghovnwy. Of one of these the report says : " One of these stones is pierced with so narrow an aperture, that it appears ill-adapted to have served as a hammer." The paper written by H.M. Frederick VII, King of Denmark, in 1857, on the *' Construction of Giants* Houses or Cromlechs," was published in the Arch. Cainh. for 1862. In reference to this paper, the Editor says : ** In connection with this subject, so ably treated by its illustrious author in the foregoing paper, we append views of two of the most remarkable cromlechs in Wales. One is at Plas Newydd, the other at Presadd- fed, in the Isle of Anglesey ; and we select them from among many others, not only because their actual con- dition well exemplifies the methods of construction explained above, but also because they are what are called * double cromlechs', or, in other words, cromlechs with remains of covered passages. There are several other cromlechs of the same kind in that island, and near the first of the two is the large chambered mound which was visited by our Association in 1860. Other chambered mounds exist in other parts of Wales, and we hope that a scientiBc examination of them will ere long be made by some of our members."
In the Arch. Camh. for 1863, p. 73, there is a letter from the late Rev. W. Basil Jones, afterwards Bishop of St. David's, describing a double cromlech on Carn Llidi, about Whitesaud Bay, to the north-west of St.
^
tHB liARtiY BBTtLBRS O^ ANOLESET 1 5
David'8, the two capstones of both of which were dis- mounted.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1864, p. 44, there is an account (written October 26th, 1863) by the Rev. H. Longueville Jones of the Llanvaelog cromlech. Mr. Jones says that he had visited this cromlech in 1844, and had taken a drawing of it. The cap of one crom- lech had fallen and was broken in two, but when entire it was not less than 15 ft. long. Mr. Jones says : " Fortunately, this drawing remains in my portfolio, and it shows the importance of preserving memorials of these early monuments, whenever opportunity oflFers, made with all possible care, for since then the fallen cromlech has utterly disappeared, and the upright one has been so seriously damaged that its destruction will now be the work of only a few winters ... all through the sheer stupidity of man." Mr. Jones gives the further history of the cromlech as follows : " A few years ago the land came by inheritance, on the death of Lord Dinorben, to the present possessor of Kinmel, and the tenant, desirous of showing respect to his new landlord, determined to celebrate the occasion with a bonfire. The fire he lighted on the top of the cromlech, and though the stone was 5 ft. thick, the action of the fire and the air split the ponderous mass right through the middle, crossways."
In the Arch. Camb. for 1866, p. 466, there is an article (dated July 10th, 1866) written by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, of Dinam, on the Henblas cromlech, to which reference has already been made. On p. 469 he says : " I have been recently informed by a middle- aged person, who was born at the farmhouse, that he well remembers a stone about 5 ft. high and 6 ins. in diameter, situated four or five paces in advance of the south-west upright, and in perfect line with the south-west side of the chamber entrance, which we may well imagine to have been the last remnant of a once existing gallery or avenue. He also mentioned that a stone, represented as a very
16 THE EARLY S£STTLfiR8 OF AN0LE8:&Y
large one, was broken up and removed by his father from the north-west side of the cromlech near to the capstone. This we may naturally suppose was one of the supporters. The objects of interest discovered by my informant in his younger days near to the cromlech were a small ring of blue glass, an urn containing ashes, and a slab of freestone 4 ft. long, beneath which were two barrowfuls of ashes without pottery or masonry." To this article there is appended a note by the Rev. H. Longueville Jones : '* In Brittany monoliths of 30 ft. and even 50 ft. in length have been carried and lifted in early times." The discovery of the glass ring and the urn raise some very important questions as to their relation to the supposed cromlech and the period in which the burial took place.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1867, p. 108, the Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam refers to the Llugwy cromlech, or Coetan Arthur, as it is sometimes designated, owing to the form and noble dimensions of its capstone.
On p. 135 of the same volume there is a valuable paper on this Llugwy cromlech by Mr. W. Wynn Williams, junior. Drawings are given of this stone and a minute description. The supporters still remain- ing are said to be ten in number, though three of them are so small as scarcely to deserve the name. In the same volume, too, there is a paper by the Hon. W. O. Stanley on the cromlech at Tiefignedd. The writer says : " About seventy or eighty years ago many of the stones which formed the covered chamber were wantonly taken for gate-posts and lintels ; but the late Lady Stanley of Penrhos preserved it from further destruction at that time, and it remains now as it then was. It presents the appearance of having been a covered chamber, of about 20 ft. in length, 4 ft. in height inside, and 4 ft. wide, composed of a row of upright stones on each side, covered with large flat stones. There is a tradition that when first exposed, on the removal of the superincumbent mound of earth or stones, some urns and human bones were found
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 17
inside." If urns were actually found, then an important question again arises as to the chronology. As has been already stated, in Anglesey the cromlech mode of burial may have persisted even into the Bronze Age, Mr. Stanley also states that about a quarter of a mile further on, near Trearddur Farm, close to the road on the right, there are the traces of a similar cromlech (now nearly obliterated), called Coetan Arthur. On p. 344 of the same volume there is an article by Mr. Wynn Williams, junior, on a cromlech on Bodafon Mount. This cromlech is said to be on the western .slope of Bodafon Mountain, near a cottage on the road- side called Tyn Llidiart. The capstone is somewhat triangular in form, and measures about 11 ft. in its
freatest length, and has an average thickness of 3 ft. hough there are seven supporters, it rests at present on four. The whole thing has fallen over with an inclination to north-east.
In the Arch, Camh. for 1868, p. 89, there is a very careful description, by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, of Dinam, of the Pantysaer cromlech. Similarly, in the Arch, Camh. for 1869, p. 140, there is an account of the much-described Bryn Colli Ddu cromlech by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell. On p. 274 there is an account with a description of a ruined cromlech at Perth! Duon, Llanidan. It is interesting to observe that the writer says : " Many years ago a number of bronze instruments (that have since disappeared) were found near the cromlech." Here, again, a most important piece of evidence has unfortunately been obscured. On p. 403 the Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam describes the ancient tumulus called Barclodiad y Gawres, the remains of which are near Ty Croes Station. He says : *' Bar- clodiad y Gawres was once a chambered tumulus of large size, but is now in a great measure destroyed." Its base, according to Mr. Prichard, had probably a circumference of 240 ft. Mr. Prichard calls attention to the traces of a smaller tumulus close by.
The question of tumuli appears to have greatly
0TQ 8BB., VOL. VIJI. %
18 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
interested Anglesey antiquaries at this time, and in the Arch, Camb. for 1870, p. 51, there is an article by the Hon. W. O. Stanley on the tumulus in Plas Newydd Park (the article is dated Penrhos, October 1st, 1869). The article contains a reference to a chambered tumulus at Rodmarton, Gloucestershire, described by the Rev. S. Lyons. The Rev. J. T. Blight also mentions a cromlech at Trevethy in Cornwall, with a circular hole in the covering stone. In his excellent article Mr. Stanley gives a list of the Anglesey cromlechs.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1871, p. 310, there is a description by the Rev. Hugh Prichard of the Dinas cromlech. Near the cromlech, he says, is a monolith, the relation of which to the cromlech is uncertain.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1872, p. 161, there is a reference to the Perthi cromlech in Llanidan parish, Anglesey, which is said to have fallen down during some incautious digging. Some bronze implements or chisels are said to have been discovered at the time. It is to be regretted that here again there is uncer- tainty as to a most material piece of evidence, just as in the case of the Henblas and other cromlechs.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1873, p. 22, there is an article on the Ty Mawr cromlech in the parish of Llanfair P. G., by the Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam. This cromlech is near a roadside residence called Pant Lodge. It is mentioned by Miss Angharad Llwyd, and also in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary. In this article Mr. Prichard discusses the method of building the cromlechs.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1874, in connection with an article by the Rev. Hugh Prichard on a " Perforated Stone found in Anglesey,*' there is a reference to four beautiful stone celts (one of flint, 8^ ins. long, and remarkably perfect), preserved by Mr. Prichard at Llwydiarth Esgob. Sketches of these were forwarded by Mr. Prichard some years before to the then editor of the Arch. Camb. , but were apparently lost. In the same number (p. 341) there is an account of excavations
THE BABLY SETTLERS OP ANGLESEY 19
of the Pantysaer cromlech, made jointly by Mr. W. Wynn Williams and Mr. Prichard of Llwydiarth Esgob, who together visited the spot on October 12th, 1874. They found the following remains : —
1. Numerous bones ; fragmentary, where previously disturbed, but less so towards the north-west corner.
2. Many sea-shells and a few animal bones were found mixed up with the earth that contained the human remains.
A single piece of pottery was found in the earth above the slab covering the grave, but the writers were of opinion that the piece of pottery did not accompany the first or original interment.
In the Arch. Cavib, for 1880, p. 81, there is an article by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell, giving an account of the Chambered Mound at Plas Newydd. In dis- cussing the holes of this cromlech, Mr. Barnwell thinks that holes probably only existed where one cromlech joined another or opened into a gallery or other covered space.
In the Arch. Camh. for 1895, p. 157, there is a reference to the Plas Newydd cromlech in connection with the Carnarvon Meeting, while there is also an account by Mr. Herbert J. Allen of the Bryn Celli cromlech near Plas Gwyn, the house of Major ap Hugh Williams.
Arch. Camh. for 1897, p. 336, contains a reference by the late editor (Mr. J. Romilly Allen) to the destruction of a cromlech on Bodafon Mountain for road- metalling. The account was communicated by Mr. J. E. GriflBth. This is the cromlech described in the Arch. Camh. for 1867, p. 344.
Such are the Anglesey remains which are generally regarded as belonging to the Stone Age ; but, as already stated, there are reasons for thinking that some of these remains were synchronous with the use of metal, and that they were continuations, sometimes in a developed form, of Stone- Age structures, so that here again we have a persistence of type rather than of actual objects.
20 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
In considering, as we shall next do, the remains of the Bronze Age in Anglesey, it will be seen that this appears to be a most characteristic development of the island, and it is highly probable that, even in pre- historic times, as in later, the Isle of Anglesey was a most important centre for the mining and smelting of copper, and the working of bronze. The Bronze-Age remains of the island are the following, in addition to the allusions to bronze implements already made. The remains of the Bronze Age may be treated from various points of view, but for the sake of a systematic and clear treatment, the three following points of view may be selected : —
a. The discovery of Bronze-Age implements. h. The discovery of Bronze- Age dwellings, c. The discovery of Bronze-Age graves.
The records of bronze implements from Anglesey which have come to the writer's knowledge are the following ; —
1. In the A7xh. Camh. for 1854, p. 252, in the account of the museum held in connection with the Ruthin Meeting of the Association, there was exhibited a bronze palstave, found at Rhosygad near Llanfair Station, Anglesey, in 1854. It was exhibited by the Rev. H. Jones, D.D.
2. In the Arch. Camh. for 1856, p. 122, there is an article entitled " Notices of Bronze Celts and of Celt- Mounds found in Wales." The article refers to an allusion contained in Rowlands's Mona Antiqua to a discovery at Rhiedd, in Anglesey, on the shores of the Menai Straits, eastward of the spot where, according to tradition, the Romans landed under Suetonius. ** There," he says, " the other day were taken up from under a stone near the sea-shore a parcel of British weapons, a sort of those jacula amentata, or such like (as appears probable from the loop-holes and sockets), in use among the ancients." The writer of the article says : " It is evidt^qt from the representations given by
the: early sbttlers of Anglesey 21
Rowlands, however unskilfully delineated, that these jacula amentata were palstaves, furnished with the loops at the side. These weapons appear to have been found in the parish of Llanidan."
3. Arch. Camb., 1856, p. 124.— '*In 1835 the late Lord Stanley of Alderley communicated to the Society of Antiquaries various bronze objects, spears, rings, etc., found at Ty Mawr on Holyhead Mountain. Amongst these was a bronze celt" {Arch,, xxvi, 483).
4. Ibid., p. 125. — An account is here given of a mould for casting bronze implements found in Anglesey, as follows : '* In 1846 a very remarkable object of this class was brought to light in the western part of Angle- sey between Bodwrdin and Tre Ddafydd. It is the half of a mould, formed of hone-stone, a four-sided prism with a cavity on each of its faces, so that it was destined for the production of four distinct castings." The discovery was forthwith made known to the Archaeo- logical Institute by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, and a note appeared in their Journal, vol. iii, p. 257. The mould was subsequently purchased by James Dearden, Esq., of Rochdale, in whose possession it now remains. Its dimensions are as follows : Length, 19^ ins. ; breadth of each side at the wider end, 2 ins. ; at the other, 1^ ins. It is obvious that a second prism of stone precisely similar was required to render the apparatus complete. It would then be adopted for casting spear-heads of two forms : one of them with an unusually short socket, both types having side-loops ; a very short spike 4^ ins. in length, probably intended for the point of a javelin or other missile ; and a socketed celt, with this almost unique peculiarity, that it had a loop at either side. The stone, unluckily broken by the finder s pickaxe, was chiselled with singular skill and precision. This discovery was briefly noticed in the first series of the Journal, i, p. 188 ; ii, p. 187.
5. In the Arch. Camb. for 1868, p. 227, in a paper on "Ancient Interments in Anglesey and North Wales," it is stated : " Among the bones and sand one small
I
22 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF AN0LB8EV
portion of bronze was found ; it seems to have been a rivet, measuring about an eighth of an inch only in length : this little relic sufl&ced, however, to prove that some object of wood possibly, or of bone, or other perishable material and compacted with metal, had been either burnt or deposited with the remains."
6. In the Arch. Camb. for 1868, p. 243, there is an account of the finding, in 1864, of two urns with burnt bones near the landing-place for steamers at the village of Menai Bridge. One of them was destroyed by the finders ; the other came into the possession of Dr. Thomas, then residing in the neighbourhood. It has, unfortunately, perished. Within one of the urns lay a bronze pin about 3^ ins. in length, one end pointed the other flat, similar to the bronze " awls'' found in urns in Wiltshire, described by Sir Richard Colt Hoare.
7. Ibid. — Capt. Griffith, Chief Constable of Anglesey, sent a bronze blade, lately found by him amongst burnt bones at the same spot. Length, 2^ ins. ; breadth,
8. Ibid., p. 272. — There was found in a place described as a semicircular fort at Llanrhuddlad a bronze celt or axe-head of simple type, stated to have been in shape like the heater of a box-iron. Its weight was about 2| lbs. This relic is unfortunately lost, having been sold to a pedlar for 3^\ 6d.
9. Ibid., p. 385. — In an article by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, M.P., entitled '*0n the Remains of Ancient Circular Habitations on Holyhead Island, called Cyt- tiauV Gwyddelod, at Ty Mawr on the South-west Side of Holyhead Mountain." In this article the writer says : ** In 1830 the tenant of Ty Mawr Farm, Hugh Hughes, on removing some of the large stones near the huts found underneath them a considerable number of bronze spear-heads of different forms and sizes ; also well-formed bronze celts — ^axe-shaped and socketed — with rings of various sizes, armlets, and many red amber beads." Further on in the same article Mr. Stanley says : " The bronze weapons in the huts were
THE EARLY SETITLERS OF ANGLESEY 23
mainly of Irish type." These objects are further on (p. 419) more minutely described as follows : —
1. A bronze spear-head of the leaf-shaped type, beautifully formed but somewhat decayed by oxidation. Its length is nearly 9 ins. ; the socket was perforated for a rivet. The blade has feather edges, perfectly worked and symmetrical. The rounded central rib or pro- lonjgation of the socket is hollow almost to the point. This weapon closely resembles a specimen in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, but spears of the same type, rarely so skilfully fabricated, have repeatedly occurred in England.
2. A plain leaf-shaped spear-head of simpler fashion ; the point broken. In its present state its length is nearly 5 ins. The socket was perforated for a rivet.
3. A looped or socketed celt of Irish type and of unusually good workmanship. Its length was 4^ ins. There is a socketed celt very like it in the Dublin Museum.
4. A small socketed dagger-blade, feather edged ; length at present somewhat more than 6| ins. The type is distinctly, though not exclusively, Irish.
5. An implement which is probably a variety of the chisel. There are thirteen specimens in the Dublin Museum.
6. A slight plain penannular armlet, the inner side flat, the outer face of the hoop rounded ; one extremity is obtusely pointed, the other slightly dilated. These personal ornaments are very numerous in Ireland.
7. Several stout rings, probably cast in moulds. Relics of this kind are abundant in Ireland ; some were also found at Liang wyllog, Anglesey ; Arch. Camb,, vol. xii, Srd Ser., p. 97.
8. Amber beads of various sizes. A necklace of amber beads was found at Llangwyllog. It may be mentioned a number of amber beads came to light with the gold peytrel found at Mold.
The amber beads point to the Late-Bronze or Late- Celtic period. This is paralleled by the discovery, in
24 TflE ^ARLY SETTLfiUS 0^ ANGLESBY
1828, at Penybonc, about a quarter of a mile south of the Cyttiau at Ty Mawr, of a necklace made of jet or excellent cannel coal and highly polished. It was found in a kind of rock grave, a sepulchral cist roughly hewn out. Two urns were likewise found in the cavity. The tenant of the adjacent farm, Hugh Hughes, said the rock grave measured about 3 ft. in each direction. It was covered by a slab of stone. He said that armlets of bronze were found in the cist, and also a penny piece. Mr. Bateman, in the Derbyshire barrows, found several necklaces like that found on Holyhead Mountain —
1. In a barrow called Cow Low.
2. In a barrow near Hargate Wall.
3. In a barrow called Middleton Moor.
4. Deposited on a rock near a barrow at Grindlow, near Over
Haddon.
On the Yorkshire Wolds, at Arras and Hessleskew, the late Rev. E. W. Stillingfleet found portions of a jet necklace along with bronze and iron.
9. Arch. Camh.j 1871, p. 51. — There is an account by Mr. Hugh Prichard of the copper cakes found at Ccistellior, Anglesey. The precise date of these is very uncertain. They were found by a labourer, who sold part of the cakes in fragments. The two came into the hands of Mr. Wynn Williams, who measured them as follows : —
No. 1. — 1. Diameter at top, 13 ins.
2. Diameter at bottom, 10 ins.
3. Thickness at edges, 2 ins.
4. Thickness at centre, 2^ ins.
5. Weight, 49 lbs.
No. 2. — 1. Diameter at top, 11 ins.
2. Diameter at bottom, 10 ins.
3. Thickness at edges, 1^ ins. to 2 ins.
4. Thickness at centre, 2f ins.
5. Weight, 34 lbs.
No impression or letters were observed on them. The writer says that, in other discoveries, only one of the Anglesey specimens bore a Roman impression, while in
tHfi EARLY SEttLBRS O* ANOLESEV 25
the best-known instances the cakes were connected with British huts.
10. Ibid. — Reference is made to a statement bj Pennant as to the discovery of a cake of copper at Llanfaethlu, which weighed 50 lbs.
11. Ibid. — Pennant is quoted as referring to the discovery of a mass of copper at Caerhun, with the words " Socio Romae," but Miss Angharad Llwyd says that it was found at AberflFraw.
12. Ibid. — There is said to be in the Carnarvon Museum a similar moulded specimen, but not so heavy, dug up in 1840 at a farm called Cefnnithgroen (now Bodfeillion), on the left bank of the Caradog, in the parish of Llanbeulan, the dimensions of which are given as follows : —
Diameter at upper surface . .11^ ins.
Diameter of lower face . . 9 J ins.
Average thickness . . • l| i^is.
Weight . . . . .30 lbs.
On its centre is a hummock 2 ins. high, where the fu3ed metal probably ceased to flow. Its outer edge is elevated about ^ in. above the general surface.
13. Ibid. — Another cake of copper is said to have been found about fourteen years ago in the neighbour- hood of Llanfairynghornwy, but owing to the mis- apprehension or negligence of a servant, it was thrown into a furnace at Amlwch.
14. Ibid. — Mr. Prichard had recently heard of a similar discovery at Dindryfal, in the parish of Cerrig Ceinwen, where a pig of the same metal was fished up from the bottom of a well, and sold in the first instance for 105. Its subsequent history Mr. Prichard has been unable to trace.
15. Ibid. — Another specimen was found at Llan- gwyllog, and is preserved by Sir Richard Bulkeley at JBaron Hill.
The writer remarks that all these discoveries are near the south-western limits of Anglesey, while the known copper mines with their ancient workings (some of
26 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANQLfiSEY
which exist) are nearer the northern coast. It is not improbable that the explanation of this is that through this south-western side a trade route for copper passed, which was connected with metal workings near the mouth of the Conway Valley.
16. Arch. Camh.y 1874, p. 13. — There is here a description of a bronze celt with stop-ridge, found near a brook recognised as the boundary between Cerrig Ceinwen and Llangristiolus. Mr. Prichard, the writer of the article, states that a bronze implement (a pal- stave) precisely similar was found on Pendinas Hill, near Aberystwyth, which is figured in Meyrick's History of Cardiganshire, Its flanges and stop-ridge are prom- inent, and the latter is ornamentally strengthened by a midrib extending down each of its faces. Its greatest length is 6f ins., its width at the broad end 2f ins., and its weight 14^oz. It is of pale-coloured bronze, and is roughly cast, exhibiting air-holes and porosities on its surface. Mr. Prichard suggests that it was cast from a stone mould. The article gives a succinct list of bronze celts and mounds found in Anglesey.
17. In the Arch, Camb. for 1875, p. 294, there is an account of discoveries in Anglesey, in a note by W. Wynn Williams. He says : " Within the present year (1875) eight bronze implements of the winged-celt class, and all of the same type, were found near Menai Bridge.''
18. In the same note the same writer also states : " One more also has been added to the list of copper cakes. It was ploughed up on a farm near Llanddyf- nan."
19. In the Arch. Camb. for 1877, p. 206, there is a paper by Mr. W. Wynn Williams on " Bronze Imple- ments and Copper Cake." Information of the Menai Bridge find was first given by Captain D. White GriflSth, Chief Constable of Anglesey, that some implements ot archaic type (eight in number) had been newly obtained during quarrying operations near the Menai Bridge. Of these, No. 1 was secured by Captain Griffith ;
THE EARLY SETTLERS 01* ANGLESEY 27
No. 2 was in the possession of the landlord of the " Anglesey Arms" ; No. 3 came into the possession of Lord Clarence Pjiget, and No. 4 into that of Richard Davies, Esq., M.P. Thus only four out of the eight are accounted for. They were found under two large frag- ments of rock, six under one and two under another, near the Beaumaris road, on its upper or northern side, a few yards to the eastward of the point where it joins the great Holyhead road. There is a minute descrip- tion of the articles, and it is said : '* In shape they are identical with examples given in the descriptive cata- logue of the animal materials and hronze in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, although there are none having precisely the same ornamentation (see Figs. 229 and 302, pp. 390, 391, also Fig. 268, p. 379, where the outside diagonal markings are the same)." Mr. Wynn Williams refers also to a drawing of a similar shaped but unornamented implement, given in the account of antiquities of bronze found near Preston, in the parish of Plymstock (see Arch. Journal, vol. xxiv, p. 119), where eight bronze celts were found. On p. 210 we are told that the discovery of copper cake was made known to Mr. Williams by Thomas Prichard, Esq., of Llwydiarth Esgob, in whose possession the cake was. The farm, we are told, is called Olgar. The cake was found in a field on the side of a bank, sloping towards the north, at a spot called Gardden. It was found in a circular enclosure 30 ft. in diameter. Numerous querns had been found in clearing off the stones. The copper stood endwise in the ground, as in the case of the Dindryfal and Bryn Du specimens. Mr. Williams picked up a piece of Samian ware on the spot. There were here probably workshops for making quarrying implements. The cake weighs 32 lbs.
20. In the Arch. Camh. for 1878, p. 22, there is an account, reprinted from the Archceological Journal^ entitled ** Notices of Sepulchral Deposits with Cinerary Urns, found at Porth Dafarch, in Holyhead Island in 1848, ai?d of Recent Excavations in the Sand Mounds
28 THE EARLY SElTLEttS O^ ANGLESEY
adjacent in 1875 and 1876," by the Hon. W. Owen Stenley, Lord-Lieutenant of Anglesey. The objects illustrated consist of a bronze brooch and portions of rings of bronze found at Forth Dafarch : a bone needle and frdgraents of pottery. Fragments of Samian and other pottery were found at Forth Dafarch, also a whorl and quern, and various stone implenients. There were found, too, some objects of flint, and in addition an ornament of bronze and a pounding stone. Amongst the discoveries of 1875 the following is recorded: "A little further from the spot bearing marks of the fire to the south, we discovered a beautiful large bronze brooch, perfect, of circular form, 2^ ins. in diameter, ornamented on the front side with ribs. It much resembles the Highlander's brooch with which he fastens his plaid. With it were portions of two smaller rings of bronze, ribbed in the same manner. A bronze brooch of some- what similar form, but smaller, was found in the Roman camps at Caerleb. The brooch is supposed by an excellent authority to be early in the Romano-British times."
21. Ihid,y p. 35. — There is a reference to the finding of a singular ornament of bronze 6 ft. below the surface, together with a flat stone deeply coloured with red haematite. This object probably belonged to Romano- British times.
{To he continued.)
29
ROMAN CARDIFF.'
By JOHN WARD, S.F.A,
•
It is only within the last sixteen years that the Koman origin of Cardiff has been a fixed point in archaeology. For the previous two centuries, it had beea a matter of surmise, doubt, and assertion merely. The older writers, as Giraldus Cambrensis, Leland, Rice Merrick, Speed, and Camden, knew, or at least said, nothing of its Koman origin ; but the last cautiously identified the Taff with the Rhatostathybius of Ptolemy, a river which that old geographer placed between the Tobius and the Sabrina. The former is usually identified with the Towy ; the latttr, always with the Severn — so the position of the Rhatostathy- bius affords ample play for speculation, and probably will do so to the end of time. The Taff, as just noticed, is one claimant to the honour ; so also aro the Usk and the Wye, and perhaps with greater justness. Baxter, writing in the early part of the eighteenth century, suggested that Cardiff was the Jupania of the anonymous Raveimese chorographer, upon no better grounds than that it is one of several unidentified places loosely associated on his list with Venta and Isca Silurum (Caerwent and Caerleon).*
^ The writer's first extended accoant of the Roman remains at this castle appeared in Arclwsologia^ Ivii, 1901. The present article owes its origin to the request of the late Mr. J. Roraillj Allen, that a similar account should be written for this Journal. The late Lord Bute's operations (described on a later page), however, being resumed, it was thought best to postpone the article until these were completed. The two articles necessarily overlap, but certain points are discussed at greater length in the Archceologia article.
2 These names in the Ravennese list are : —
Leuconiago (possibly the Antonine Leucarvm, Llougher).
Cunetzone^ or Cimetzone,
Punctuobice (usually identified with Cowbridge).
Yenta Silurum (Caerwent). [List continued on next page.
30 ROMAN CARDIFF
The Rev. W. Harris, a Prebendary of Llandaff, in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries in 1763/ approached the question with more critical discrimina- tion. He noted the position of the town on the main road of South Wales ; the force of the first syllable of the name — ** Caer/' a camp ; and the discovery of Roman coins within the Castle precincts. For these reasons, he considered it probable that the Castle was on the site of a Roman station, and, following Baxter, that it was the Jupania of the Ravenese. More to the point was a correspondent who signed himself " Siluris," in the Public Advertizer of October 9th, 1777. He mentioned, among other things, the discovery when he was a boy, of what he regarded as a hypocaust. It was near the south-west angle of the Castle Green, and there is no reason to doubt his conclusion, as his description is very explicit. The discovery, however, was long lost sight of. A writer in the Westminster Magazine of 1785 made no reference to the Roman origin of the town, and contented himself with the remark that, according to both Giraldus and Ltland, it *' takes its name from the river Taff .... Caertaph signifying the Town or Cast'e upon the Taff." Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in his edition of Giraldus Cam- brensis in 1806, made Cardiff a Roman station in both his text and his map ; and Malkin, in his South Wales, 1807, held the same view, but discreetly qualified it as something '* generally understood."
Jupania.
Metambala,
Alhinunno,
hea Augusta (Caerleoo).
Bannio (? Gohannium^ Abergavenny ; but usually identified
with the Gaer, near Brecon). Brenna (perhaps intended for the Antonine Burrium, Usk).
The spelling of the list is very corrupt, and the places are enumerated without any apparent system. Japania would equally well fit in with the Roman forts at Oellygaer, Goelbren, and the Gaer near Brecon.
^ ATchasologia, ii.
ROMAN CARDIFF 31
A directory of 1792 is responsible for this remark- able statement : — '^Cardiff was anciently known by the name of Khatostabius ; and when the Romans invaded Britain, Aulus Didius, one of their generals, first erected a fort, and then stationed a garrison, to curb the Silures ; the Welch then called it Caer-didi, and afterwards it was called Caer-daf, Caer-dyf, vulgo Caer-dydd. The name Caer-daf is expressive of the original state and the situation of the town, i.e., a fortress on the T4f." This statement is repeated verbatim in a local Directory and Guide, published by John Bird in 1796, and in another, by Thos. Kidd in 1813 ; and it occurs in abbreviated form in Donovan's South Wales y 1805, and the Beauties of England and Wales, 1815. * Ratostathybius was, of course, a river, not a town : and one cannot but suspect that the con- nection of Aulus Didius with the place rested solely upon the plausible explanation it affords of the Welsh name, Caerdydd, But the dual myth has flourished exceedingly, and it still blossoms afresh with well nigh the regularity of the flowers in spring. It is repeated in William Lemuel Jenkins' History of the Town and Castle of Cardiff , 1854, with the addition that the town was founded in a.d. 53. In J. H. Clark's Cardiff and its Neighbourhood, 1853, we are informed that Aulus Didius '* took up his residence at Cardiff and gave it the name of Caer-dydd"; and further, that '* it was originally known by the name of Rhatostabius Ostium."
Meanwhile, Bertram's forged Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester brought fresh grist to the mill of specu- lation. In this document. Tibia Amnis is conveniently west of Caerleon,^ and was soon seized upon for Car- diff*, for which it probably was intended. And, as might be expected, it was soon hinted that a place so brimful of " history" must necessarily have its roots in
^ Tihia Amnis is placed eight miles from Isca Colonia (Caerleon) and twenty from Bovium (which ib usaally identiGed with Cowbridge pr Boverton) in this document*
32 ROMAN CAKDIFF
a deeper antiquity. Hence the reader will not be sur- prised at the maunderings of a recent guide-book, to the effect that " its history dates back to epochs that are prehistoric"; that it is the Roman Tibia Amnis and Rhatostathybius ; and that Caer-dydd is, in plain English, the camp of Didius. Evidently its writer was not aware of Baxter's Jupania, or he would surely have added it to the list of names.
To the late Mr. G. T. Clark, who approached the question with a true archaeological instinct, is due the credit of placing the Roman origin of Cardiff upon a firm basis. In 1890, he contributed a valuable paper to this Journal,^ on the early history of the Castle, particularly in respect to the discovery of ancient walling then recently made. Many years previously, he had argued that this Castle occupied the site of a Roman fort, giving as proof its quadrilateral form and its position at the junction of two Roman roads, the so-called Via Julia and another to the Gaer near Brecon, which passes en route the recently-explored fort at Gellygaer. These evidences, however, were somewhat unsatisfactory from the circumstance that the recorded Roman *' finds" within the Castle and the town were insignificant or doubtful ; but the dis- covery referred to above was as light in a dark place.
This discovery was as follows : The late Marquess of Bute had determined to connect the Castle with his gardens and the Cathays Park on the opposite side of North Road by means of an elaborate passage, which was to span the road in the form of a gateway with towers, from the designs of the late Mr. William Frame, of Cardiff. With a view to this, a portion of the adjacent slope of the great bank which closes in the Castle square on the north, east, and for a short distance on the west and south sides, was removed in the winter of 1889, and in doing this it was found that the earthwork covered a massive wall which was
^ Archijeologia Cambrensit, pp. 283-292,
KOMAN CARDIPF
33
already ancient and ruined when it was buried. Mr. Ctark at once pronounced it to be Roman, not because it was distinctively Roman in its masonry, but because , of its relationship to the bank. He had long regarded this back as pre-Norman, so his conclusion was only natural, and, in fact, it has been confirmed by later discoveries. This unexpected wall seems to have modified Lord Bute's intentions, for he proceeded to lay bare about 300 ft, 5f its outer face, disclosing thereby the additional feature of three polygonal bastions or projecting towers. In 1890, the work
^r^
i|i|'i'li'iS'llili!llliff|'
Fig- 1' — Seetion of CmUg Baok before ree«nt OpeiationH.
ceased for a time. The elaborate turreted gateway went no further than its foundations, and it is safe to say that it will never go further, for the Cathaya Park is now public property.
After a lull of eight years, the work of stripping away the outer portion of the bank was resumed, ana early in 1898 the north-east corner of the wall, with its imposing polygonal eapping-bastion, was laid bare. Lord Butes purpose was now made evident by the reconstruction of the ancient wall, to serve as a revet- ment for the remaining inner portion of the bank. The change thus effected is illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2.
da BBR.. VOL. VIII. il
34 ROMAN CARDIFF
Mr. Clark's days were now fast drawing to a close ; but in spite of his weak condition, the account of the new discoveries in the local press drew from him a lucid response — his last contribution to archaeology — in which he compared these remains with those of sundry other Roman forts in this country (South Wales Echo, January 28th, 1898). Three days later, this veteran archseologist passed to his rest. The attention of the present writer had already been drawn to the discoveries ; and through the kind permission of the
lV:3^v^::i/-''!j|ii||Hi|lli!i|
Fig, B. — Section of Caatle Bank as restored by the late Maniuess of Bute.
Marquess he was enabled, not only to watch the work to its temporary cessation in 1900, and during its subsequent resumption, but to make necessary inves- tigations, and thus he is privileged to be Mr. Clark's continuator.
Before proceeding to describe the ancient wall, the question why it should be regarded as Roman must be answered. We have observed that there is nothing distinctively Roman about its masonry. There is no powdered brick in its mortar, no lacing-courses of the familiar tiles, and in plan and general design it differs in several respects from the wails of most
ROMAN CARDIFF 35
Roman forts. In form, Mr. Clark's argument was correct. If the bank is pre-Norman, the only probable, if not possible, builders of the wall were Romans. But it should be observed that his pre-Norman origin for the bank was little more than a surmise, prompted by the belief that it was raised before the ''motte*' or moated mound on which the Normans subsequently erected their shell-keep. Whether these mounds, which are found in most parts of the country, are so exclusively pre-Norman as Mr. Clark supposed, need not concern us here. The question is the relative ages of the Cardiff mound and bank. A glance at the two plans of the Castle (Figs. 3 and 4) will show that the bank closely follows the line of the wall, except along the western half of the north side. Here it has an outward curve, obviously to allow of sufficient space for the ditch of the mound. Now, if the bank was the earlier, and even if its makers contemplated the throwing-up of the mound, it is difficult to explain the deviation, for there is no conceivable reason why the latter should not have been a few yards more to the south. In the absence of anything to the contrary, we must regard this as evidence for the greater age of the mound. The age may in some measure be gauged by that of the keep, which was assigned to Kobert Consul (1107-1146) by Mr. Clark. At the time of its erection the mound must have thoroughly settled, and this would take many years to accomplish. There is nothing improbable in the conjecture that this raising of the mound was part of that founding of Cardiff attributed to lestyn ap Gwrgant in 1070, in the Brut y Tywysogion.
The mediaeval bank, cut through in the excavation of the Roman gateway, is a conspicuous feature in Fig. 11. The outer portion has been stripped away, and in front of the remaining portion is Lord Bute's reconstruction in process of erection. A remaining portion of the outer slope on the other side of the gate- way is shown in Fig. 13.
3-
Fig. 3— Plan of Cardiff Caitle. Showing its MediieTsl Worki. Roqhd Remuni in Outline.
feOMAN CARDIFF
37
The bank appears to be the legacy of a subsequent development in which the quadrilateral area of the Castle was divided into two wards. Another glance at the first plan, which presents the chief mediaeval
I niiiiif
\ I ^ >
.too
FEET— I ■■■■■■■■« J METRES- ' ' ' ^
T r
300
I
-I r
iee
400
m
</£/
Fig. 4. — Plan of the Roman Fort, CardiflF Castle.
features of the Castle, will show that on the west and south sides the bank gives place to a strong wall (known as the " Ten-foot Wall "), and that this wall forms the external boundary of the inner ward, the rest of the circuit of which is, or rather was, completed by a divisional wall, and the keep.
38 ROMAN CARDIFF
It certainly looks as though the bank was contem- porary with the walls, and formed one work with them. If so, the earliest period that can be assigned to it is the Norman, late rather than early, for there is evidence that the keep was already erected when the space around was divided into the two wards. From this, it has been suggested that the buried wall was early Norman.
It is, however, incredible that an early Norman wall of its strength — of rock -like hardness and 10 ft. in thickness — should have attained the ruined condition it had attained when it was covered up, for at most little more than a century could have elapsed between its erection and burial, since the latest period to which the bank and its wall-continuations can be assigned, is the thirteenth century. On the other hand, if it is Roman, there was ample time for it to become reduced to this state of ruin.
Direct evidence, however, was supplied by the various Roman objects, consisting mostly of fragments of pottery and tiles, with a few coins, which were found at the foot of the wall during the operations of 1898- 1900. These, coupled with the few recorded previous discoveries of a like nature, together with the form of the Castle and its position with regard to the Roman roads of the district, leave no room for doubt that the ancient wall is Roman.
The circumstances which led to the discovery of the wall, and the reasons why it should be regarded as Roman, having now being given, we will pursue our subject in the following order : —
1 . The situation of the Castle.
2. The Roman fort as a whole.
3. The form and construction of the several parts —
curtains, bastions, and gate.
4. Comparison with other Roman forts ; and
5. The date of the fort and its duration.
I. The situation of the Castle. — Cardiff Castle occu- pies a central position on a low-lying tract, largely
tlOMAN CAHDIPi* 39
deposited by the Rivers Ely, Taff, and Rhymney, which may be appropriately regarded as their delta, and upon this tract the city of Cardiff is built. The Castle stands near the east bank of the second of these rivers, at about a mile and a half from its present con- fluence with the Bristol Channel. The advantages of the estuary of this river as a harbour, screened as it is on the west and south by Leckwith Hill and Penarth Head, must have early been recognised, and it is reasonable to ascribe to this the motive for erecting a stronghold here. The ground in the immediate vicinity of the river is only about 24 ft. above the Ordnance datum, and except for the presence of artificial banks would be liable to floods ; but it gently rises from the river, attaining, on the east side of the Castle, a height of about 40 ft. Whether the present height above the sea represents the Roman is uncertain, as the shore of Glamorgan has been subject to vertical movements in recent geological times. Since the Neolithic period the site of Cardiff has sunk at least 50 ft., and it would now be under water except for the deposition of estuarine muds and gravels.
The exact relation of the Castle site to the Roman roads of the district is little more than a matter of surmise, as no remains of these roads have been ob- served in the vicinity. North of Caerphilly, the line of such a road is known, passing through Gellygaer and thence to the Gaer, near Brecon, and it points to Cardiff* in an opposite direction ; and the Via Julia in its western course from Caerleon must have crossed the Taff* in the vicinity of this city. A consideration of the latter demands some attention. This road, after a short westerly course from Caerleon, in order to avoid recrossing the Usk, takes a south-westerly trend at Bryn-glfils near Malpas ; and between Bassaleg and St. Mellons it is traditionally identified with the old highway from Newport to Cardiff. For three miles from Bassaleg it is a little-frequented road, which has signs of Roman engineering in its lay-out, and some
40 HOMAN OAHDIFF
indications of an agger in one place. At Pant-rhiw- g6ch, near Castletown, it takes a more southerly course and becomes a more frequented road, which joins the present highway at St. Mellons. On the other side of Cardiff the Roman road is in a general way represented by the present highway between Ely and Cowbridge, the first three miles of which is straight, and serves for most of the distance as a parish boundary. If this straight piece of road is projected in a north-easterly direction, it would cross the Taff about half a mile east of Llandaff, and would join up with the old road between Pant-rhiw-g6ch and Bassaleg, which is in the same line. This provides one theory of the course of the Via Julia, and it has been recently advocated by Mr. Codrington in his Roman Roads in Britain (pp. 343-4). He suggests that the crossing of the Taff was at Gabalva, near Llandaff. If he means Little Gabalva, there is some evidence which tends to corroborate him, for not only is this house as nearly as possible , on the hypothetical line, but hard by is Llys talybont, which, in the thirteenth century, was a manor-house of considerable importance, and the name implies a bridge, which, however, must have disappeared many centuries ago. Moreover, in its vicinity were the remains of what was regarded as a Roman encampment by Jenkins in 1854, and which apparently finds an echo in " Castlefield," a trifle to the north of Llys talybont. If the Via Julia crossed the Taff here, the position of such a camp would be most happy, as it would not only guard the bridge, but the intersection of this road with that from Cardiff to Gellygaer. The writer, however, has gone over the ground in the vicinity of the supposed road, and has found no traces of it.
On the other hand, there is little doubt that Cardiff was threaded by the Via Julia, or a southern loop of it. Returning to Pant-rhiw-g6ch, we observed above that the old highway makes a southerly bend in its vicinity, and points to Cardiff. For four miles its
SOMAN CARDIFir
courae is sinuous, but on the whole is straight, and passing Rutnney Court it descends to the Rhymney.
Cresting a bluff which overlooks the river immediately north of the bridge is, or rather was (for the site is
42 KOMAN CAHDIF^
now built upon), a small camp about 160 ft. square, to judge from the Ordnance Survey. This has long been recognised as Roman ; in fact, it has been more than once named Tibia Amnis. Continued west of the Rhymney, the line of the road would pass by Roath, and would roughly coincide with Queen Street, Cardiff. Leaving the Castle, we may assume that the old road followed the present Cowbridge road, and crossed the Ely sufficiently high up to be out of reach of the tides, say at, or a little below, the present Ely bridge.* Now, on the opposite side of the river about here, and at the west end of the race-course, is a small Roman site, which was partially excavated by the Cardiff Naturalists' Society in 1894, but sufficiently so to show that it contained the remains of buildings within a rectangular earthwork, consist- ing of rampart and ditch, the whole being of about the same size as the Rhymney post. A little to the north of this site is the straight length of road from Ely towards Cowbridge referred to above, as part of a conjectured line of road which crossed the Taff near Llandaff.
We thus have two theories : the one, that the Via Julia crossed the region in an undeviating straight line; the other, that it made a detour by Cardiff. And the latter has some deCTee of confirmation in the fact that the little camp on the Rhymney, and that (assuming that it is military, as it appears to be) on the Ely, are both on its line, and are well placed to guard its passage across these rivers. It is not unlikely that both theories are true, the direct route being the earlier, and having fallen into disuse when the Cardiff route was made, may account for its complete oblitera- tion. The map (Fig. 5) shows these two routes, the former as a broken line, and the latter as a firm one ;
* A ford Iiereabouts was formerly known as Rhyd-j'Sam, and Mr. J. W. Langstaff, of Ely, informs me that it was at or near the bridge.
ROMAN CARDIFF 43
but until further evidence is forthcoming, both must be regarded as conjectural.^
2. The Roman Fort as a whole. — A reference to our second plan of the Castle (Fig. 4) will show that roughly two-thirds of the Roman enceinte are repre- sented by visible remains now existing or which are known to have existed some years ago. From about 40 ft. north of the south-east corner, round bv the north-east, to the north-west corner, these remains consist of the stretch of walling exposed during the operations described above.
The north wall, it will be observed, has a central gate (g), and midway between it and each extremity, a projecting tower or bastion, while a similar structure caps the north-east corner. South of the point we started from, the rugged core of the Roman wall has long been denuded at the back of a yard behind the *' Glove and Shears" inn, at the corner of North Road and Duke Street ; but its age was unsuspected until the recent discoveries. A little further south, the remains of the south-east bastion were levelled down some years ago, and this gives the southern limit of the east wall. It will be observed that this wall, instead of being straight, is slightly bowed outwards, like a two-foot rule not fully opened, and that the central point or salient has a bastion (c) instead of a gateway ; but like the north wall, there is an intermediate bastion between this point and each of the capping-bastions.
We have now accounted for two sides of the Roman
^ Since the above was in type, Mr. Joba Ballinger, the Chief Librarian of the Cardiff Libmries, has shown me some extracts from the lolo MSS,^ 1796, at Llanover, wbich may prove to be valuable clues ill determining the exact course of the Boman roads jnst referred to. In them mention is made of the remains of a bridge abont a fnrlong lower down the Taff than the present bridge at Llandaffy and of a causeway half a mile below Rumney Bridge. This causeway, it is stated, *' is often found by labourers some feet underground, some say 4 ft. or 5 ft., in many places on Pengara Farm, etc.*'
44 ROMAN CARDIPt'
fort, and the information these supply will materially aid us in reconstructing the remaining two sides. Proceeding to the north-west corner again, a glance at the first plan will show that the short southern return of the medisBval bank is considerably within the line of the west Roman wall. This setting back of the mediaeval work is not peculiar to this comer, but its object here may have been partly to avoid the scour of the old mill-leat, now an ornamental water, but anciently an arm of the Taff, which served, in mediaeval times at least, as the western ditch of the Castle. Through the setting-back of this return, the Koman work was only partially covered by the lower part of its western slope, and its "outcrop" here attracted attention during the above operations and led to its being sufficiently cleared of soil to render its line apparent. It was found that the north-west bastion had entirely disappeared, probably owing to encroachment of the mill-leat, but the circular sweep of the inner angle of the fort corresponding with that of the north-east angle, was clearly traced. On the east was exposed the broken end of the north wall ; while to the south was laid bare the Roman founda- tion extending to and in precise alignment with the mediaeval '* Ten-foot Wall." It can hardly be doubted, therefore, that this wall, for at least its first 240 ft. (at the end of which a slight inward bend occurs), represents the Roman wall.
The somewhat longer western return of the east mediaeval bank at its south end, is similarly set back from the Roman line. As the premises on the north side of Duke Street abut against the comparatively late boundary wall of the Castle (d, Fig. 1 ) which still crests the outer edge of the summit of the bank, and extended along the east and north sides until removed during the alterations, they necessarily overlap the Roman wall. Long ago, in order to gain space on the street level, the owners at different times cut back the foot of the slope until this great wall stopped further
ROMAN CARDIFF 45
progress ; and the remaining upper slope between its summit and the boundary wall was mostly utilised for gardens. More recently, some of the owners have cut into or wholly removed the Roman wall, thus gaining still more space on the street level. Where not wholly removed or wholly covered with modern buildings, the ancient core may still be seen behind the houses in this street, in some places standing to the height of 10 ft. or 12 ft., and in one place several facing-stones remain in position. These remaining portions of the south Koman wall, together with such as have been removed only in late years, are indicated on our second plan (Pig. 4). The core of the south-east bastion, as already stated, was one of these recently-demolished portions. By these means, we are able to plot the line of the Koman work for about 170 ft. west of that bastion. If this line is projected westwards, it is found to coincide with the short length of mediaeval wall on the left side of the south gate. As this gate corre- sponds in its central position with the Roman gate on the north side, there is little doubt that it is on the site of the south Roman gate.
We have already observed that the northern half of the west mediaeval wall continues the line of the Roman from the north-west corner, and as it is obvious that the rest of this wall on that side, and its return on the south side as far as the gate, complete a tolerably symmetrical figure in which the slight out- ward angle of the east side is repeated on those sides, the reader will hardly doubt that the mediaeval " Ten- foot Wall" represents the Roman line. It is true that no remains of bastions are visible along this wall ; but this can hardly be held to vitiate the above conclusion : rather, it indicates that the mediaeval builders did not understand their use, or at least did not require them. The writer is informed, how- ever, that when the mediaeval wall was restored about thirty-four years ago, several external masses of ancient core were removed with great difficulty,
46 ROMAN CARDIFF
and it is probable that these may have been the remains of bastions.
There are circumstances yrhich render it probable that while the mediaeval wall represents the Roman, it does not exactly coincide with it towards the south-
Fig. 6. — Diagram showing the relation of the Mediaeval to the Roman Lines.
west corner. The *' Ten-foot Wall" passes through the residential buildings, but the portion immediately north of them is not quite in the line of that to the south ; in other words, it makes a slight easterly bend within these buildings. A similar slight bend is noticeable on the south side, at the west end of the Black Tower.
ROMAN CARDIFF 47
On our second plan, we have produced the lines of the wall north of the residential buildinjfs and of the face of the Black Tower, and it will be observed that they meet a few feet beyond the south-west corner of the Castle. Their claim to represent the Roman outline is supported by the following : — ( 1 ) They render the general outline of the Castle more symmetrical ; (2) they harmonise the measurements, that is, the opposite sides if measured from the theoretical south-west comer practically balance one another, the north and south being 596 ft. and 598 ft., and the east and west 647 ft. and 646 ft. respectively, the measurements being external ; and (3) they give the south gate an exactly central position.
Another circumstance favours our conjecture.
If the line of the media3val bank is compared with that of the Roman wall it will be observed that towards the north-west, north-east, and south-east corners it inclines inwards, and moreover the inner angles were thickened in order to carry mounds or cavaliers, the one at the last-mentioned corner being still very conspicuous. The object of this deviation from the Roman line was evidently to reduce the acuteness of the angles, always the weakest parts of a fortifica- tion, and the cavaliers, of course, provided increased " command" at these points. It is reasonable to think that a similar motive would lead the builders of the ** Ten-foot Wall" to set back their structure within the Roman south-west corner in order to obtain an obtuser angle. Pig. 6 presents diagrammatically the relation of the mediaeval to the Roman line, the former being shown as a broken line.
In our plan of the Roman fort the correctness of this conjectured line is assumed ; and we have not hesitated to introduce bastions on the west and south sides to correspond with those on the opposite sides. The Roman wall was certainly backed with a bank of earth (b in Figs. 1 and 2), but it was small in comparison with the mediaeval earthwork ; and there is inferential
48 ROMAN CARDIFF
evidence for a Roman ditch ; but both will again be referred to. The general figure is a short oblong, but it is slightly askew, a peculiarity shared by some other Roman forts, and due to faulty setting out of the work at the outset ; the outward bulge of three of the sides, however, is most unusual, perhaps unique.
3. Construction and Form of the Wall and its Appen- dages, — The wall itself, wherever exposed, is of constant form and dimensions, and the section, shown in Fig. 7, is typical. It is from 10 ft. 2 ins. to 10 ft. 6 ins. in thick- ness, and this is diminished to 8 ft. 2 ins. at a height of 7 ft. 6 ins. from the plinth, by a series of four step- like set-offs, each of a single course, at the back (Fig. 8). The height of the remains as found was from 1 2 ft. to 16 ft. The whole work was faced on both sides with lias limestone, probably derived from Leek with Hill, two miles south-west of Cardiff, laid in regular courses ranging from 5 ins. to 8 ins. in thickness, and roughly squared and hammer-dressed. The joints are wide, j and the mortar is fine and without any admixture of powdered brick. The core consists mostly of large boulders or " popples," as they are locally called, apparently derived from the bed of the Taff; but here and there much lias rubble is used. There are no regular lacing -courses ; but there are occasional stretches of flat pieces of the limestone evidently introduced for this purpose.
The first step in the construction of the wall was to cut a shallow trench about 1 ft. 10 ins. deep, and 1 5 ft. wide, the soil derived therefrom going to form the bank behind the projected wall. This trench was then filled up with- *' popples," and over their levelled sur- face was spread a layer of mortar. Upon this was laid the plinth course, about 11 ft. wide, consisting of a single course of stones, edged with large, rough, tabular blocks. Then followed the construction of the wall itself. In this, sometimes a single course, and other times several courses, of the facings — front and back — were raised, the intervening space being packed
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with " popples " and waste limestone, roughly coursed, and often laid on end. These were then grouted with liquid mortar, and when sufficiently solidified another stage was raised, and so on, until the wall was com- pleted. This grout is of singular hardness.
The remains of the wall and its plinth are well shown in Fig. 9, and the upper portion of the foundation of "popples'' is exposed in the shallow trench along the foot, while at the end of the view is seen a portion of the post-Roman bank not yet removed when the photograph was taken.
The bastions, including the two which flank the north gate, may be described as half decagons, except that at the north-east corner, which is an incomplete octagon. They vary from 18 ft. to 19 ft. 6 ins. in width, and project about 10 ft., but those of the gate are somewhat less. All are solid except the last, which contain the guard-chambers, and the middle one on the Qast side. With the exception of the three eastern bastions, they have boldly projecting circular plinths, each of a single course like that of the wall. Of the three exceptions (b, c, and d. Fig. 4), the northernmost has a slightly projecting plinth, which conforms to the superstructure, while the other two have none at all ; but the southernmost (b. Fig. 7) exhibits the spring of a circular plinth on its south side.
A curious feature of these plinths must now be noticed.
While the bastions are part and parcel of the con- struction of the wall, the courses of their facings corresponding with and being bonded into those of the wall, their plinths are wholly independent. As far as can be ascertained, the wall-plinth is continued behind the bastions. This is well seen at the north-east corner, with a further peculiarity. The wall-plinth here (Fig. 7, b) curves inwards as the corner bastion is approlch^d, and the writer found, by probing with a bar at the points where it disappears behind the latter, that it is continued in the same curve ; in other words^ we have here, so far as the plinth is concerned,
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50 ROMAN CARDIFF*
one of the rounded corners which are generally charac- teristic of the Roman forts in this country. The superstructure, however, is curiously out of gear with it. The wall on either side of the bastion does not follow the curve, but if produced would form an ap- proximately right-angled corner. There is a similar want of accord on the inner side. The wall there has a rounded sweep, while the north and east plinths run in straight lines, and meet under the masonry of this rounded corner. The separate construction of the bastion-plinth is emphasised by the fact that on one side it starts at a lower level than that of the wall, and ends on the other by overlapping it, as may be noticed in Fig. 10. Again, the foundations of the two structures differ ; that of the bastion consisting of boulders and broken stone, spread apparently on the old natural sur- face ; while that of the former, wherever examined, con- sisted of pure boulders in a well-defined trench. It may be added, that the discordance between the wall and its plinth-course is general. The one does not always run parallel with the other ; and even when it does, the amount of set-back varies, being sometimes as little as 5 ins., and sometimes as much as 16 ins. In one length between two bastions on the east side the wall is so athwart its plinth as to overhang it at one end. These irregularities are not due to the plinth, but to the wall, which, while running in straight lengths from bastion to bastion, slightly zig-zags as a whole, these lengths having probably been built by different gangs of men, who were not always careful to see that their respective portions were in true alignment with those of their neighbours.
The gate (Figs. 7, 11, 12, and 13) was an imposing and picturesque ruin when opened out. It consists of a single passage, of a clear width between its pilasters of 9 ft. 10 ins., between two bastions, each of which contains, as already stated, a guard-chamber. These pilasters are four, an outer and an inner pair, and are built of large blocks of Dundry stone, neatly dressed.
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HOMAN CARDtW 51
Immediately behind the outer pair were found, in situ, the rough blocks containing the sockets in which the door-pivots turned, and midway between, the stop- post — all of red Radyr conglomerate. The sockets are 5f ins. in diameter and 2^ ins. deep, and they have on their outer sides a wide groove, evidently to receive a ridge on the side of the iron shoe, and so prevent it revolving with the door-pivot. The iron disc-like bottom of one of these shoes still remained. The road- way through the gate was of stones and iron cinder, very irregular and worn. A trench along this road proved that there were two older road-surfaces at lower levels, both of iron cinder ; also that the existing socket-stones were late insertions. The original sockets appear to have been at a lower level in the bottom Dundry blocks of these pilasters, which were con- siderably prolonged inwards for the purpose, and the upper portion of these blocks had been rudely hacked down to make way for the conglomerate insertions. A further discovery was made on this occasion. It was found that the whole of the gate, except the projecting portion of the guard-chambers, was built upon the lower courses of the wall, as indicated by broken lines on the plan in Fig. 7. This underwork may be seen in Figs. 11 and 12 crossing the opening of the gateway. The guard- chambers were entered by narrow doorways in their back walls, and their opposite ends were semicircular, approximately to the outer shape. Two floor-levels were detected in them, the intervening material (about 2 ft. thick) consisting of dark earth and stones ; but there was nothing to indicate what the actual floors had been made of
The pilasters are about 2 ft. wide, and project about 1 ft., leaving recesses on each side of the passage of that depth and 6 ft. wide. As the pivot sockets are 10 ft. T) ins. apart, these recesses would be wide enough to receive the two leaves of the door, when opened. These pilasters undoubtedly carried arches, and the space between the arches would have a flat ceiling.
62 HoiiAN CARDIFF*
the floor of a chamber above, which would have suitable openings to allow the defenders to resist any attempt to force an entrance. Almost certainly, the flanking bastions had similar upper chambers on the same level.
The middle bastion (c, c, Fig. 7) of the east side was, as already stated, unlike the others. It was solid to the height of 6 ft. 6 ins. above the Roman level, above which the sides were continued upwards as walls, 3 ft. 3. ins. thick, so as to enclose a small chamber of the shape of the bastion itself, the back of which was the curtain, which remained here to the same height as elsewhere. There is reason to think that here was a postern, but this will be returned to in the next section. It may be added that several of the bastions showed signs of having been repaired, or, at all events, of their facings having been partially renewed.
No direct evidence for a Roman ditch was found ; but this was hardly to be expected, as its line was occupied by the mediaeval ditch, which was certainly of much larger proportions.^ But there were two indirect proofs for one. The volume of the Roman bank behind the wall was altogether too great to be accounted for by the upcast of the foundation trench of the wall. And among the clean gravels of the mediaeval bank was observed an occasional seam of dark soil, containing fragments of Roman pottery and brick, which presumably was derived from the silt of the Roman ditch.
In perusing the foregoing pages, the reader will
^ The excavation for the underground lavatory which was con- structed in North Road several years ago was almost wholly in the filling of the niedisoval ditch. The east side of the ditch was cut through, but neither the opposite side nor the bottom was reached, proving that it was of large dimensions. The remains of the town wall — about 4 ft. thick — were exposed in the process. The foundations of the west abutment of the late Lord Bute's pro- posed arched corridor are in the same line a little further to the north, and I am informed that it was necessary to dig to a depth of 20 ft or more to reach firm ground.
ROMAN CARDIFF 53
hardly have failed to surmise that this ancient work had undergone repairs, if not alterations, from its original design, before it ceased to be a Roman fort. There is no question of repairs, for there was direct evidence in several places that the facing had been patched; but the ease with which blocks from the thinly-bedded lias can be selected so as to continue the courses of older work, renders it difficult to deter- mine to what extent this re-facing went. The piece of rounded plinth below the southernmost bastion (b, Fig. 7) of the east side is more reasonably interpreted as the fragment of an originally complete semicircular plinth like those of the north side, than as an unfinished one. We have already noticed the slight foundation of the north-east bastion and the subsidence of its outer portion. It is conceivable that this bastion had sub- sided to such a degree as to render the reconstruction of its outer part necessary ; in fact, there were some indications to this effect on its remaining facing. It is also conceivable that the absence of semicircular plinths from the remaining eastern bastions may be similarly explained. Why the eastern bastions should have required partial or complete reconstruction may be due to the varying geological character of the alluvial reach upon which the Castle stands — here, deposits of boulders and gravels, and there, of loams and sands. The question of alterations from the original design will be discussed presently.
4. Comparison with other Roman Forts. — The Roman forts of this country fall broadly into two classes : those without and those with bastions. The former are the more numerous. The little fort recently explored by the Cardiff Naturalists' Society at Gellygaer, 1 3^ miles north of Cardiff, furnishes an excellent example. In plan it is oblong, with boldly-rounded corners. Its stone- faced rampart has no projections, and no breaks, except at jihe four gates, which are of a spacious character, each with two portals, 9 ft. 6 ins. wide, and originally arched. Houses teads on the Wall of Hadrian
54 ROMAN CARDIFF
is precisely similar, only larger. If the normal num- ber, four, of the gates of these forts was exceeded, the additions were of a subsidiary nature, as, for instance, the two additional gates of Birdoswald and Chesters (also on the Wall of Hadrian), with a single portal each. The general planning of these forts so closely agrees with the description of the large Roman field camps attributed to Hyginus, who is supposed to have lived about the time of Septimius Severus (a.d. 193-211), that the type may be conveniently distinguished as the Hyginian.
The bastiouf d forts are, as a rule, of stronger con- struction, their walls being rarely of less thickness than those of Cardiff ; whereas, those of the foregoing class seldom exceed 7 ft. The Roman fort at Richborough in Kent, which guarded the chief port of entry into Britain, is a well-known example. Like that of Cardiff, it had two gates, each of a single span, and its bastions were of the same number, and similarly, but not quite so symmetrically, disposed ; but they were of different form, the corner bastions being round, and the lateral, half squares in plan. The analogy can be carried a step further. The central bastion of one of the sides still remains, and it conceals a postern, and this is our chief reason for thinking that the chamber within the corresponding bastion at Cardiff may also have been connected with a postern, but of different construction. In the former, the wall is perforated near the ground level by a narrow passage, which terminates in a small portal in the east side of the bastion. In the latter, there is no passage in the existing remains of the wall, probably because of the bank behind — Rich- borough, apparently, having no bank — but there may have been one on the level of its summit. If so, it would seem that in order to pass without the fort, a descent into the chamber would first be made by a ladder, and thence through a doorway and. by another ladder to the ground outside. It is true that there are no indications of such a portal, but it is noteworthy
ROMAN CARDIFF 55
that, while much of the south side of the chamber is intact, the north side is almost wholly broken away, and it is not unreasonable to think that the outlet may have been on that side.
Burgh Castle in Suffolk is another fine example of the class. It is somewhat larger, but is considerably narrower than Cardiff Castle. Of the two longer sides, the one next the estuary which it guarded has entirely disappeared, but its line is known. The other has a central opening large enough for a gate of a single span with guard-chambers, and on either side is an intermediary bastion between it and the corner bastions. The two shorter sides have a single central bastion each, and many years ago the wall on one side of one of these was found to be pierced with a small postern. It is impossible to say whether this postern was repeated on the opposite side, as the bastion there, with the adjacent parts of the wall, has fallen in huge masses. Presumably it had a similar postern ; and presumably, also, the sea-wall had a large gate. The bastions of this fort are rounded with narrow necks, or ** pear-shaped."
The Roman fort at Porchester, in Hampshire, is considerably larger than the foregoing examples, and like that at Cardiff was utilised by mediaeval castle- builders. It is square, with boldly-projecting bastions with rounded ends, which appear to have been sym- metrically arranged as at Cardiff, and in the side next the sea is a centrally-placed gate of a single span. Whether this was balanced by a corresponding one on the opposite side is uncertain, and it is also uncertain whether the remaining sides contained posterns. Lympne Castle, another Kentish coast fort, is of the same class, but of less symmetrical form. Its bastions are semicircular, and it has a large gate of single span flanked by two smaller bastions as at Cardiff, towards the end of one of its sides ; but the whole structure is too tumbled about to determine whether there was another large gate. There were, however, two or three
56 ROMAN CARDIFF
posterns. Pevensey Castle, Sussex, another Roman fort adapted by the mediaeval castle-builder to his own purposes, presents a striking deviation from the typical Roman form, being somewhat oval in shape. Its bastions resemble those of Porchester, and it has an imposing gate — probably the only one — of a single span, deeply set back between two bastions.
It will be observed that these forts differed from those of the Hyginian type in three particulars : they had bastions ; they were more strongly constructed ; and their entrances were fewer, more contracted, and better guarded. The bastions provided flanking de- fence, and this marks an advance on the other class ; in fact, they appeal to us as strongholds capable of resisting a prolonged siege, whereas the others seem to have been more of the nature of military depots or 'stations/' fortified, it is true, but designed for troops which were wont to issue forth on the oflfensive. That they were a development of these, and arose under different conditions, hardly admits of doubt. All the examples given above were placed near estuaries and ports, and although a few of the inland forts are known to have had bastions, still we may regard them, as a class, as coast forts. There is abundant evidence that most of the earlier class date from the period of the Roman Conquest ; also that many of them— Gellygaer, for one — fell into disuse when the subjugation of the country was complete. On the other hand, we know from the Imperial Notitia, a document of the close of the fourth or the beginning of the following century, that Burgh, Richborough, Lympne, Pevensey, and possibly Porchester, were members of a series of forts under the control of the '* Count of the Saxon Shore." At that period the internal conditions of the Province had greatly changed. The natives of the southern half of the island had not only acquiesced in Roman rule, but had accepted Roman civilization, and were proud of their Roman citizenship. Instead of the army being scattered throughout the province in
ROMAN CARDIFF 57
garrisons to hold the people in subjection, it was now massed along its vulnerable frontiers — along the line of Hadrian's Wall and throughout the northern coun- ties of England generally, against the Caledonians, and, as indicated in the Notitia, along the seaboard next the Continent. We know that, towards the close of the Roman era, our shores were increasingly menaced by the hardy sea-pirates from the opposite shores of the North Sea, and in less degree from Ireland.
The northern frontier had been maintained from the first — hence its forts were of the older type ; but the increasing menace from the sea necessitated much strengthening or reconstructing of old coast forts, and the erection of new ones, in later times ; also the maintenance of a navy, without which they would have been of little use. It would be passing strange if the estuary of the Severn with its important tribu- taries, the Usk, the Wye, and the Avon, all natural highways to fertile regions which were well populated in Roman times, was left unprotected. It is, there- fore, interesting and significant that we find the remains of a stronghold at Cardiff^ of the type of Richborough and other late coast forts, and admirably placed to serve as a base for a navy to intercept hostile attempts to reach these western waterways. A glance at a map of England and Wales will at once convince the reader of the high strategic value of a fleet in the Severn Sea.
5. The Date of the Fort and its Duration. — We have now to consider whether the Roman fort of Cardiff was of late foundation, or was an early structure modified to meet late requirements. It is a difficult question. The "pros" and '^contras" are given in detail in the writer's Archceologia article, so need be little more- than summarised here. The continuation of the wall-plinth behind the bastions, and of the lower courses of the wall under the north gate, are suggestive that these (the bastions and gate) are additions. Upon
58 ROMAN CARDIFF
this hypothesis, the fact that the bastions, including those of the gate, are to all appearances of one construction with the wall itself, compels us to believe that when these bastions were added, the wall was either wholly rebuilt from the plinth-course, or was so extremely altered as to practically amount to a rebuild- ing ; and the curious manner in which it fails to follow the circular sweep of the plinth at the north-east corner tends to corroborate this view.
A similar peculiarity, but accentuated to a greater degree, is observable at Burgh and Richborough. The bastions of both are independent structures to the height of about 7 ft. from the ground, above which they are bonded into and are of one construction with their respective walls. The former fort has rounded corners ; and as the core of the wall, where exposed, exhibits a break at about that height, it has been supposed that it originally had no bastions, and having become ruined was rebuilt above that level, the bastions being added at the same time. The writer recently examined the remains, and noted that while the break appears to be constant, there was nothing to wan'ant the work below being regarded as materially older than that above. The masonry throughout is uniform in character. The break certainly implies a halt, but not of long duration. The summit of the lower portion was, apparently purposely, left raised in the middle, roof-like, and smoothed over with mortar, as though with the view to prevent the access of rain- water to the core. Conceivably, the break represents a winter's cessation in the building operations ; and as it is confined to the Avail, there is no question that the bastions were built when the upper part of that struc- ture was raised. Why such a procedure should have been adopted, can only be guessed — perhaps it was desirable to concentrate effort with a view to raising the wall as high as possible during the first season in order to provide a defensive barrier before the winter set in. For an example of a disposition of work to a
ROMAN CARDIFF 59
similar end, the reader is referred to The Roman Fort of Gellygder^ pp. 47 to 48. How far this will apply- to Richborough is uncertain ; but one feature there militates against the hypothesis of an earlier fort largely reconstructed with the addition of bastions. The corners of the lower work are rectangular ; and upon this hypothesis we should have the curious anomaly of a reversion to an old form of Roman fort which was abandoned in favour of rounded corners, before the conquest of Britain.
Lympne and Pevensey do not present this difficulty, for in both, the bastions are part and parcel of the general construction from the ground, and the bold projection and form of these bastions probably indicate a later date than Cardiff, Richborough, and Burgh. But that bastions were sometimes added to earlier work can scarcely be doubted. Caerwent is an in- stance to the point. There, we have a fortified city of the earlier type, with rounded corners, against the south wall of which have been built three polygonal bastions. These are wholly separate structures, but their walls— for they are hollow to within a few feet of the ground like the middle bastion at Cardiff — are roughly toothed into irregular holes which have been cut in the face of the wall. As bastions of this form only occur here and at Cardiff, it is reasonable to think that they were the work of the same engineer and erected about the same time.
The last two paragraphs argue for the whole work at Cardiff, from foundation to crest, being of one and a late date ; and the testimony of the Antonine Itinerary tends in the same direction. The first station west of Caerleon in the twelfth route of that compilation, which dates from the second century, is given as Bovium or Bomium, a place which has been identified as Cowbridge and as Boverton near Llant- wit Major ; but Ewenny more nearly corresponds with the distance from Caerleon, 27 Antonine miles. Thus Cardiff, it would seem, is either ignored or did not
60 ROMAN CARDIFF
exist at the time. If the Via Julia passed to the north of Cardiff, as has been suggested (page 40). it is just possible that the former is the case, the Anto- nine compiler confining himself to the enumeration of places on the actual route. At the same time, too much weight must not be attached to the omission. The whole route west of Caerleon is faulty in respect to the distances given ; and on other routes, stations have dropped out of the text and the mileages have been altered, through the carelessness of early tran- scribers. The Antonine Itinerary must always be checked by archneological evidence.
On the other hand, Lord Bute's alterations disclosed several features which impressed the writer that the Roman work of the Castle was of two widely separated dates. In probing between the wall-plinth and the north-east bastion, as mentioned on page 49, this plinth was observed to have a decidedly weather - worn appearance, and patches of dark earth intervened between it and the core of the bastion — two indications suggestive that the former had long been exposed before the erection of the latter. Again, at the northern limit of the curve, the plinth had settled considerably, and this had taken place before the facing of the wall above was built, for its lower courses widened over the hollow in order to gain a level. Further, it had taken place before the plinth of the bastion was laid, for while thit, started somewhat below the level of the wall- plinth at its south end, it overstepped it at the opposite extremity, implying that its builders laid out their work horizontally. It was also clear that the wall in its passage below the gate had been higher, for portions of it had betn hacked away and at a time when its grout was so hard that the stones themselves were broken in the process. In 1900, the writer noticed that in a small excavation at the foot of the wall about 30 ft. west of this gate, the plinth was abnormal in consisting of ttvo set-offs, instead of one ; and this suggested the possibility that it marked the
llOMAN CAftDlFi* 61
Site of an earlier gate. The cessation of the building operations about that time rendered further investiga- tion impossible ; but upon their resumption about a year ago he had a series of small cuttings made to ex- pose the plinth at intervals. These confirmed the fact that for a considerable distance the proper plinth rested upon an irregularly projecting course of rough stones, but nothing was disclosed to countenance the above surmise.
Altogether the evidence as to the foundation of a castellum at Cardiff is conflicting ; and although the writer inclines to the theory of an earlier work almost entirely rebuilt and remodelled, he admits that it rests upon only a slender basis in fact Unfortunately, there is now no immediate prospect for further investi- gation to this end, as the whole line of the wall exposed during the past few years is now covered with the new reconstruction. But the time will undoubtedly come when Duke Street will be widened by the removal of the buildings on its north side, and this will afford an opportunity for further investigation.
With regard to the abandonment of the fort we have clearer light. It is hardly likely that the estuaries of the rivers Taff, Rhymney, and Ely would be left unguarded as long as the Roman administration re- mained effective and intact. That our fort continued to be manned to the evil days of the break-up of the Imperial administration is fairly proved by the coins which were found during the digging operations, of which ten were decipherable, and they ranged from Faustina to Julian the Apostate. Of these, six belong- ing to Victorinus, Tetricus Junior, Carausius, Constan- tine the Great, and Julian the Apostate (a.d. 265 to A.D. 363) were turned up on the Roman level in and about the gateway. The last coin may reasonably be considered as a proof that the fort was maintained to the close of the Roman period in Britain.
Whether and how long it was subsequently main- tained is little more than guess-work, beyond that
62 HOMaJT CAEDirP
viewing this from the standpoint of the ruined walls when the great mediaeval bank was thrown over them some eight centuries later, we may safely say that any post-Roman occupation could not have been of long duration. These walls had served as a quarry for the district ; and the black mould which covered the fallen debris and filled the chinks and hollows of the core tell of long unchecked vegetation. The rugged core still presented a wall -like barrier ten or more feet in height above the talus of rubbish at the foot, which, sur- mounted by brave defenders, would have offered some hindrance to an onslaught ; but the condition of the north gate at this time is proof that the Roman lines had long been abandoned. The ruins of this gate were well nigh buried in their own debris, but the height of the dSbris over the road was only 4 ft. or 5 ft., thus affording an easy access into the internal area. We cannot imagine that this state of ruination and neglect could have been accomplished under a few centuries. The first inkling we have of the re-occupation of the site is the raising of the motte within the area, and it tells of wholly new conditions ; and this was followed still later by the utilisation of the Roman lines, as already indicated on these pages.
We may be sure that under the shadow of the Roman castellum would be gathered a small popula- tion, directly or indirectly dependent on the needs of the garrison ; but whether in the course of time the cluster of extra-mural houses expanded into a town is uncertain. We know that many a Roman fort was the nucleus of a Roman town, and that not a few of our present towns thus originated, to wit, Gloucester, Leicester, Chester, Lincoln, and York. Can our city claim a like venerable antiquity ? Unfortunately, between the Roman garrison on the Taff and the first glimmerings of Cardiff in history, is the impenetrable gloom of many centuries. There is some evidence, however, of a surrounding Roman population too wide-spread to be regarded as a group of *' camp-
tloMAN CAkDlFf 63
followers." Roman pottery was found on the site of Lloyd's Bank in High Street, when it was rebuilt some fifteen years ago, and excavations here and there within the bounds of the city have yielded stray Koman coins. Roman pottery and coins have been found on Penhill, on the way to Llandaff, and in Llandaff itself pottery has been turned up. Coins may be dropped anywhere by wayfarers, but not pottery and pieces of tile — these indicate the vicinity of dwellings. The rise in the ground observable in High Street is not of natural geological formation. Excavations on both sides of the street have proved that it consists of debris of a long succession of buildings, and at Lloyd's Bank the Roman stratum was about 10 ft. below the present surface. It would seem, therefore, that most ancient, and presumably Roman, Cardiff lay imme- diately south of the Castle. The See of Llandaff carries us back to the sixth century, no long time after the close of the Roman period. We can hardly imagine the foundation of a see here, unless the place was already populous and of traditional importance. Nor can we account for the status of Cardiff as the ** caput " of the lordship of Glamorgan in the eleventh century, unless the town had already attained a pre-eminence of some sort. Neither see nor lordship is compatible with the idea that the district became a depopulated waste after the break of Britain with the Empire. The very fact that mediaeval Cardiff and its Castle were where a Roman garrison was placed suggests continuity of occupation. What the name of Roman Cardiff was, we cannot say ; all we know is that in subsequent times it was the gaer by the Taff.
Whether the new construction can be said to be happy, archae )logically or artistically, the writer pre- fers to leave to the verdict of others.^ He appealed
^ As indicated in Fig. 2, the new work above the summit of the remains of the Roman Wall is wider than the .upper part of the old, overhanging its inner or back face about 2 ft. or more. There is no evidence that any Roman fortification in this country contained a mural gallery, like the Aurelian wall of Rome.
64 toO^fAN CA&DlFf
to the late Marquess for at least one stretch of the oJd wall to be left visible, and suggested fceveral methods by \\ hich this could be accomplished, and yet provide a means of supporting the remaining portion of the post-Roman bank, the feasibility of which was con- firmed by architectural friends. It is highly satis- factory, however, that the large excavation within the north-east corner of the Koman lines has been care- fully preserved and roofed in, and here may be seen the best example of Roman masonry in the Princi- pality. Still, at all events, we have something that recalls a Roman fort of late type on the west side of North Road which will bear witness to future generations of the foundation of Cardiff, just as the palatial new City Hall and Law Courts on the opposite side will tell of its c mmercial importance and expan- sion in the twentieth century.
Cambnan Sltcbaeological 9l0£(octation.
REPORT OF THE
SIXTY -FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.
HELD AT
LLANGEFNI, ANGLESEY,
On MONDAY, AUGUST 26th, 1907,
AND FOUR FOLLOWING DAYS.
President, SIR JOHN WILLIAMS, Bart., M.D.
Pres ideiU- Elect, SIR RICHARD H. WILLIAMS-BULKELEY, Baht.
Local Committee. Caiman.— DH. E. WILLIAMS.
Lord BoHtou.
Lady Reade.
Mr. E. Neil Baynee.
Mr. Harry Clegg, Plas Llanfair.
CauoQ E. T. Daviee, Gaerwen.
Mr. Cadwaladr Davies, Menai Bridge.
Mr. H. Rees Da vies, Treborth.
Rev. J. L. Davies, Llanallgo.
Mr. J. R. Daviea, Ceria.
Rev. R. Davies, Llanerchymedd.
Mr. Richard Davies, Llaiigefui.
Rev. R. J. Edwivrds, Llangefni.
Rev. E. Evans, Llansadwru.
Rev. R. Evans, Llanidan.
Captain Warren Evans, Henblas.
Rev. E. H. GrifSth, Llangadwaladr.
Mr. J. E. Griffith, Bangor.
Mr. W. 0. Griffith, Llangefni.
Mr. Harold Hughes. Bangor.
Mr. J. E. Hughes, Llanerchymedd.
Mr. Lewis Hughes, Amlwch.
Mr. Richard Hughes, Llanerchymedd.
Mr. W. Hughes-Jones, Llangefni.
Miss Jones, Treanna.
Mr. D. G. Llewelyn Jones, Llangefni,
Mr. J. Jones, N. P. Bank, Llangefni.
Professor J. M. Jones, Llanfair P.G.
Mr.O. £ Jones, Druid House, Llangefni.
Rev. Robert Jones, Heneglwys.
Dr. Thomas Jones, Amlwch.
Colonel Hsmpton Lewis, Henllys.
6ru 8BB., VOL. vm.
Colonel Lloyd, Tregaian.
Mr. Harold Macbeth, Llanidan.
Mrs. Mason, Bodafon.
Mr. J. Matthews, Amlwch.
Mr. F. H. Mills, Glyn, Bangor.
Mr. T. Nicholls- Jones, Llangefni.
Mr. E. Owen, India Office, Whitehall.
Mr. C. F. Priestley, Hirdrefaig.
Rev. Hugh Prichard, Dinam.
Mr. T. Prichard, Llwydiarth Esgob.
Rev. T. Prichard, Amlwch,
Mr. Hugh Pritchard, Llangefni.
Mr. J. H. Pritchard Rayner.Trescawen.
Rev. W. Pritchard, Pentraeth.
Chief Constable Prothero, Llangefni.
Dr. J. R. Prytherch, Llangefni.
Mr. J. Rice Roberts, Rhiwlas.
Rev. W. E. Scott-Hall, Llanfaelog.
Major Sparrow, Trefeilir.
Mr. D. Taylor, Llangefni.
Mr. H. Tildesley, Llangefni.
Mr. William Thomas, Llangefni.
Mr. James Venmore, Cemmaes.
Hon. W. W. Vivian, Glyn, Bangor.
Rev. J. Williams, Llwyn Idris.
Rev. J. H. Williams, Llangefni.
Major Lawrence Williams, Parciau.
Rev. O. Kyffin Williams, Llangwyllog.
Mr. 0. Trevor Williams, Llangefni.
Mr. R. H. Williams, Llangefni.
Mr. Rice R. William»>, Holyhead.
5
66 CAMBRIAN AROH^OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
Hon, Local Treasurer, Mr. £. M. Roberts, Metropolitan Bank, Llangefni.
Hon, Local Secretaries,
Mr. S. J. Evana, M.A., County School, Llangefni. Mr. W. Lloyd Owen, Metropolitan Bank, Llangefni.
Oeneral Secretaries to the Association.
Rev. Canon R. Trevor Owen, M.A., F.S. A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage. Rev. C. Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth.
The Local Committee, whicli inclnded several competent aroheBolo- gists, were fortunate in having for their Senior Secretary Mr. S. J. Evans, Head Master of the County School, Llangefni. He was ably seconded by his colleagae, Mr. Lloyd Owen, of the Metro- politan Bank, and his experience in organisation, and kindly discipline combined with nnfailing courtesy and tact, contributed very materially to the success of the Anglesey Meeting.
As the number of non-resident members attending was too large for the ordinary public accommodation of the town, the neighbour- ing gentry and clergy came forward with generous offers of hospitality, which were gladly accepted by some of the party, while others took up their quarters at Bangor and Menai Bridge.
The responsibility and arduous labours of the Secretaries were further increased by the difficulty of providing suitable and sufficient carriages for the numerous company on each of the four days.
The usual Business Meeting of the Committee of the Association was held at the County School, Llangefni, on Monday, August 26, at 8.30 P.M., Archdeacon Thomas in the chair.
The other members of the Committee present were Colonel Morgan, Treasurer ; Canon Trevor Owen, Oeneral Secretary ; Mrs. T. Allen, Canon Rupert Morris, Professor Anwyl, Elev. J. Fisher, Messrs. Herbert Allen, A. E. Bowen, Olascodine, R. Jones Morris, T. E. Morris, and E. Owen.
The Annual Report of the Committee, the Treasurer's Statement of Accounts, and the Report of the Editorial Sub- Committee were presented, and, after some discussion, formally adopted and ordered to be laid before the Annual Meeting for approval in acoordance with Rule 20. The question of the ** Place of Meeting" for 1908 was considered, as well as other business to be laid before the Annual Meeting of members.
EXOTTESION 1.— AUGUST 27, 1907.
The members, numbering altogether (with additions en route) 120, left the Bull Hotel, Llangefni, at 8.30, picking up a contingent at Oaerwen Junction at 9.10, and arrived at Llanddeiniol Fab Church about 9.30. This church, which is dedicated to S. Deiniolen, son of Deiniol, Bishop of Bangor, had suffered much in " restoration,'* little of its original architectural character being preserved. It is
»4
as
ANOL£S£Y MEGTIMQ. — BEPOKT 67
described in Mona Mediasva} as ^' a small charch, of the sixteenth oentnrj, or perhaps earlier, mnch altered, with a single aisle, 40 ft bj 20 ft. ; the windows modern, but traces of a two-Hght window of ancient date. The western doorway is circular-headed, Perpendicular. The font, circular and perfectly plain, may be a remnant of the original church."
The next halt was made at Bryn Celli Bdu Cromlech, situated on a farm called Bryn Celli Ddu, near Plas Gwyn, and described in Arch, Camh, 1847, as ** one of the most interesting remains of the kind still extant in Anglesey," with ^* a gallery nearly perfect." Mr. Rowlands, ob. 1723, mentions in Mona Antiqua "the remains of two carnedds, within a few paces of one another; the one is somewhat broken and pitted into on one side, where the stones had been carried away ; the other having had its stones almost all taken away into walls and hedges, with two standing columns erected between them."
Pennant (HI, '52) writes : " A few years ago, beneath a carnedd similar to that at Tregarnedd, was discovered, on a farm called Bryn Celli Ddu, a passage 3 ft. wide, 4 ft. 2 ins. or 3 ins. high, and about 19^ ft. long, which led into a room about 9 ft. in diameter and 7 ins. in height. The form was an irregular hexagon, and the sides composed of six rude slabs, one of which measured in its diagonal 8 ft 9 ins. In the middle was an artless pillar of stone, 4 ft. 8 ins. in circamference. This supported the roof, which consisted of one great stone, near 10 ft. in diameter. Along the sides of the room was a stone bench, ^ on which were found human bones, which fell to dust almost at a touch. It is probable that the bodies were originally placed on the bench. There are proofs that it was customary with the Gauls to place their dead in that form in cells, and that they added to the head of each body a stone weapon, which served as a pillow ; but nothing of the kind was discovered in this sepulchre."
The process of destruction continaed, and in 1846 all traces of the carnedd had disappeared, except the earth and stones on the cromlech and on the top of the passage leading to the chamber. The ground rises all around, making the base of a tumulus '* that now would measure not more than 65 ft. or 70 ft. across.^ The occurrence of a large stone on the outer circumference of this rise would lead to the conjecture that originally it was surrounded by a circle of such blocks. The passage which led from the outside to the chamber within runs from east to west, and now measures not more than 18 ft. in length by about 3 ft. iiT height and 2 ft. 6 ins. in breadth. It is composed of six large stones on the north and five on the south side ; but, on the latter, several stones are built in, as is now done in the common stone fences of the
^ Arch. Camb., 1846.
^ In 1860 no bench was to be found.
> Fennftnt makes i% 90 ft to 100 ft.
5«
68 CAMBEIAN ARCH«OLOOICAL AaSOCIATlON
Brvu felli Ddii Cromlecli. ,Ftoi,, Ji«-. ). Hin..iri ■■ Tour in AiiyUity.")
ANGLKSfiy MEETING. — llfi^ORT 69
coanty. The sides of the chamber are composed of single stones, of the width of 5 ft. 4 ins., 4 ft., 6 ft., 4 ft., and 6 ft. respectively, allowing a space of only 20 ins. for the entrance, which, with a stone 21 ins. wide, makes np the sixth side. The npper stone forming part of the roof is 1 1 ft. long by 6 fit. 6 ins. wide and 15 ins. thick. A second stone, whicli also made part of the roof, of rather smaller dimensions, has now fallen off, and lies upon another by the side of the road. The npper stone is of grit, all the others of chloritic schist, both sorts of stone fonnd within no great distance from the spot"^
After a brief statement had been made of these particalars, Sir Henry Howorth followed with some observations on the cromlech : — "'What strikes me as the specially interesting featnre of this cromlech is the evidence it affords of an unbarnt burial. The overlapping and even contemporaneous usage of cremation and burial in the later Stone and earlier Bronze Age is very interesting, since there is nothing more likely to have been conservative than the ritual of funerals in primitive times. We of course know that in Roman times, when the practice of cremation had become almost universal, some families, like the Cornelii, still continued to bury their dead, and the discussions that took place on the death of Sulla will be remembered. It seems to me exceedingly probable that the introduction of burning was due to the importation of some new religion, and this may have been introduced by those who first came to exploit the metals of Britain^ and who first introduced bronze here. At the beginning of this new movement, bronze would be probably too costly to be put into graves, and it might well be that all the other features of Neolithic graves might con- tinue to subsist after the bronze-using people had actually introduced the new process of cremation. This, like other suggestions about a period largely enveloped in fogs, must be accepted as a tentative hypothesis only."
Professor Sayce said that Sir Henry Howorth's conclusion might be supported by a consideration of the structure of the cromlech itself, which pointed to the close of the Neolithic period, or even to the Transitional epoch, when the Age of Stone was passing into that of Bronze. The cromlech was a dolmen, with a passage of approach, not chambered like the chambered cairns of the Neolithic Age on the west and north coas,ts of Scotland. Such dolmens do not seem to exist in Scotland, but they are common in Ireland, England, Western France, Portugal, Spain, and Northern Africa, and some are found also in Northern Germany, Denmark, and the south of Sweden. In Scotland, on the other hand, we liave the famous cairns of Glava, on the Nairn, with a passage leading to the central chamber, like similar cairns of the Neolithic epoch at Roknia in Algeria. At Olava, cinerary urns have been discovered. Cairns containing cists, with passages of approach, have been
^ Arch, Chmb,, 1847.
7U CAMBRIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCtATIoM
explored in Argyllshire, in whioh the bodies were iDcinerated as well as bnried ; and in one of them (at Balljrmenach) Canon Green- well discovered' a cinerary am of the Bronze-Age type. The celebrated tamulns of Maeshow in the Orkneys has an elaborately- constrncted passage of approach, and, if of prehistoric origin, must belong to a comparatively late date, like the equally celebrated tamnli at New Grange in Ireland, which also have passages of approach. It is trne that most, if nofc all, of these Scotch cairns belong to the Neolithic Age, but the practice of cremation to which they bear witness indicates that the Bronze Age had already com- menced in the southern part of the island. Hence, we seem to be justified in regarding the dolmen with a passage of approach as indicative of the latest portion of the Stone Age ; and in an out- lying district . like Anglesey it may well be that, like the Scotch cairns which contain cinerary urns, it belongs to a period when the bearers of the Bronze culture had already entered the south-eastern part of Britain.
It will be of interest to our readers to read the account given by the Rev. John Skinner of his visit to this cromlech in 1802, and it is valuable when collated with the later accounts. After a short reference to Bowlands's description, he mentions the discovery, about twenty years before his visit, of '* a flat pan about 10 ins., overturned bottom upwards, and under it a wedge of gold, as the labourers pretend, the size of the heater of an iron, with a piece of wire passing through the smaller end of it.*' This was taken to Colonel Peacock, the proprietor of the ground. Mr. Skinner sug- gests that ** the wedge of gold" was no other than one of the brazen celts. He gives an amusing instance of the superstitious views held by the country people about the cromlechs. Whilst a former was removing some of the stones from the north-east side of the larger carnedd, ho came to the mouth of a passage covered with a square stone similar to that at Plas Newydd. He procured a light, and crept forward on his hands and knees along the dreary vault, when lo ! in a chamber at the further end, a figure in white seemed to forbid his approach. The poor man had scarcely power sufficient to crawl backwards out of this den of spirits, as he imagined. Later he found that the "figure in white" whioh caused him so much apprehension, was no other than a stone pillar about 6 ft. high, in the centre of the chamber.
Mr. Skinner next describes his own experiences : " Our two con- ductors [a young farmer and his friend] seeming rather to compli- ment each other about precedence, I took the lanthorn, and crawling for about 12 ft. along a narrow passage, got into a more capacious chamber. My companions followed close at my heels, and we assembled to the number of six in this singular sepulchre. The passage by which we entered is about 3 ft. high and a little more in breadth, and was formed like that we noticed at Plas Newydd with flat stones stuck endways and covered by others of still grenter magnitude laid across. I have still my doubts that if the former
ANGLESEY MEETING. — REPORT 71
was farther explored, it might terminate in a similar vault to what we are now speaking of. The height of the chamber is 9 ft., its form nearly triangnlar, some of the sides being about 3 yds. long and 4 ft. or 5 ft. high. The intermediate space up to the roof is filled with stones placed' one above the other in the manner thej build walls, but without any kind of cement Two prodigious flat stones covered the whole, one about 3 yds. in length and 2 yds. in breadth, the other not quite so large. These are of a gritty substance, not like any stone found in the vicinity. The pillar still lying in the cavern is a kind of freestone, and seems to have been rounded by the tool."
A short halt was made to see the Bodowyr Cromlech, which was reached much later than the time fixed in the programme, 10.30 a.m. It is mentioned by Rowlands, Mona ArUiqua, as "a pretty cromlech, standing at the top of a hillock, length 7 fib., breadth 6 ft., thickness 6 fL Ye upper stone is a detruncated pyramid, and flat at the top.'* He adds, " There is also, on a rising part of the ground there, the highway leading through it, the remains of a small cirque." Mr. Wynn Williams, in 1868, states that the cromlech ** has a pyramidal^ appearance, when looked at from the south-west, but is certainly not very flat at the top. *' There are five supporters stand- ing, but the capstone at present rests upon three only. [Miss Angh. Llwyd (1833) describes the capstone as being supported by four up- right stones.] From the smallest of these a piece has been detached and now lies beneath the cromlech.
A visit to Tre^x Bryw Bach had to be abandoned, and we pushed on to Oaerleb. It is described in Arch, Camb., 1860, as *' a square entrenchment, 59 1 yds. by 45 yds., protected by a double ram- part in good preservation. Rowlands (who maintained that several place-names in the district bore the respective names of the Orders, Druid, Bard, and Ovate) supposed it to be the chief Druid's prin- cipal seat, but it is apparently a Roman camp, containing within its lines traces of detached stone buildings." Samian ware, black pottery, and some small brass coins (Roman) had been found in the enclosure.
Colonel Morgan was of opinion that Caerleb was undoubtedly Roman. ^ The plan,'' he said, " given in Arch. Camh. is good, and well represents the work as it stands at the present day. The only ezoeptions to it3 accuracy are to be found in the delineation of the towers at the angles. The foundations certainly can be traced, but they are by no means so well preserved as they are shown in the plan. Also in the elevation, the height of the banks is so much exaggerated that it gives an erroneous impression of its character. The work is a good example of an early Roman camp of a semi- permanent character. Works such as these were generally aban-
^ Skinner instances this form as an argument that '' cromlechs were not always used (if they were at all) as altars for sacrifice, as its pyramidical form is by no means adapted to the purpose."
m
2 CAMBRIAN ARCHJ50L0GICAL ASSOCIATION
doned by the Romans afher a limited oocupation if they had no intention of converting them into so-called towns. This work was too small fbr that purpose : it only afforded accommodation for a detachment of Roman soldiers, quartered there for some reason, the object of which is now not apparent. Probably it was abandoned from lack of space, coqpled with tlie fact that in later days it was commanded by the adjacent ground, owing to the superiority of the weapons then employed." Mr. VVilloughby Gardner agreed with Colonel Morgan. Mr. Edward Owen demurred to this, as the forfcification was in a hollow. There were no Roman roads or chain of fortifications in the neighbourhood, and the results of the excavations in 1866 were hardly sufficient to determine its Roman character. He felt inclined to consider it a Roman adaptation of a pre-existing British fortification. In reply. Colonel Morgan main- tained that though the fortification might not have been originally Roman, it was not unusual for them to establish a oamp in places not otherwise suitable.
Colonel Morgan adds in a subsequent communicati on : *' There are no signs of a subsequent occupation, and save for the destruction of the ditches and the outer mouud on the south-east side it has come down to us as a good example of this class of work. The authors of the article have taken exception to the site as unsuitable for a Roman camp. With this I must disagree, as it is not: at all an unusual site to be selected by a Roman engineer, and I must further make demur that the ditches were never meant to be filled with water. They are good examples of the ditches for the defence of obstacles, a system for which the Romans were renowned."
The carriages next proceeded to Llauidan, where the numerous party was hospitably entertained to luncheon by Mr. Harold Macbeth.
Llanidan Church, dedicated to St. Nidau, of the seventh century, is described in Mona Mediceva^ as ''one of the largest and most important in Anglesey,'' on account of its style of architecture and the traditions connected with it. The aisles were separated by a series of six arches on octagonal pillars, with bold Perpendicular mouldings. The church is now abandoned, only the western portion remaining, roofed over, and serving^ as a mortuary chapel. It is one of the few examples of double-aisled churches to be met with in Anglesey. The roof of the porch is a simple stone-pointed barrel- yanlt, an exceptional feature in connection with the churches of this district. In 1846 the font, cylindrical, stood opposite the south doorway, in the south aisle, '' a singularly beautiful specimen of the end of the twelfth or thirteenth century," " not so good either in design or in execution as that at Llangeinwen, though similar in feeling, but a highly valuable specimen of medioBval taste." In I860, this font was lying in a dark corner, dismounted from its pedestal, and liable to rough treatment. It has been since removed to the
^ ArclL Oarnh., 1846.
2 Arch, Camb,, 1862.
AMOLliSBY MEETING. — REPOBT
?3
new oharoh. Two feet nnder the allar bad been found in former days B cnrions reliquary [" aaiqao as far as Wales is oonoenied," — H. L. J., 1863], reasniblmg a small atone coffin in form, 2 It 2 ins. ]oBSi by 1 ft. 7 ins. in height.
Giraldns CambreoBiB bas a etorj ibont a wonderful stone, in (be formofabtiman thigh, "Maen Morddwyd," which invariably returned next ni^ht to ita own plnce, after it had been removed from the church. Hugh, Earl oF Chester, tried the experiment of ftiatening it with strong iron chains to another slone and throwing it into the sea. It returned next morning, and the Earl issued a atern edict against ita removal. It is now bnilt in securely in the wall of the church. The walls were ornamented with Scripture texts, in Latin and Old English characters, traces of red paint being visible ( 1 846) in several
Several stones with inscriptions and armorial bearings are pre-
{PramR
n AnyUttg.
aORTO
served within the rained building. One of them, which was used to form a lintel to the garden gate, has ;
LOG . [AV3 . IN] ' HOMO { DAMNAVS . EX HVMAVS RESAVS
They are in Roman capitals, the am in the second line, and the a and Tin tbeotherlinesbeingconjoinedorlignlate, the T being represented by a stroke over A. Professor Westwood was of opinion that they were"evidentlypost-Gothic, posaibly Elizabethan, with which period tbe sentiment (evidently in allasion to Adam and the Saviour) is also referrable."'
Another, which, was found in pulling down the wing of Llanidan
... , ' Lapid. IVaiK. p. 197.
7i CAMfeRtAK AftCHAOLOatCAL ASSOCIATION
House, has, in eyident allnsion to Adam's fall in the Ghirden of Eden :
HOMO DAMNAVIT
VLA POMO
An old key of the sixteenth century was noticed, and also a stoup in the porch, which is said to have the peculiarity of being always full of water without overflowing.
After a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Macbeth, proposed by Pro- fessor Anwyl, and seconded by Sir Henry Howorth, the membeni proceeded to Gastell, a farm on which human remains were found by the tenant ploughing, seven years ago, entombed under four slabs, the sides and interior being also of stone slabs. The camp which gives its name to the farm is a circular enclosure, with a line .of outer defences, mostly on the north-western side.
Mr. Skinner was of opinion that it was intended as a gymnasium or place of exercise.
Colonel Morgan observes : *' This camp is practically in the same state now as it was when the article in Arch. Camb., 1871, was published, and there is still the same diversity of opinion as to what object the work was originally intended to serve. Nothing has occurred since to alter the general opinion then formed — that it never was designed for defensive purposes.
*' The earth for the enclosing mound has plainly been obtained by excavation of the interior, and the defence viewed from the outside (notwithstanding the imposing picture as given in the Journal) in many places is so utterly inadequate and out of proportion to the labour expended in raising the mound, as plainly to mark that it was not designed for the purpose of defence. The argument that because it has been designated ' The Castell ' for an indefinite period is proof sufficient that it was constructed for such purpose is, to say the least, inconclusive. The name might have been derived from the resemblance to a fortified work, given to it when its real object had been long forgotten."
Llanfair yn y Cwmwd Ohurch, where we were due by programme at 1.35, could not be seen except from the outside, as the key was not to be obtained. The church, which is one of the smallest buildings of its class in the island, has now no feature of archi- tectural value, though the materials of the walls may have been worked up from the remains of an older building. We were, how- ever, much disappointed not to have the opportunity of seeing the font, which, in Mona Mediceva^ 1846, is described as *'one of the most remarkable in the collection of Anglesey monuments, a rude produc- tion of the twelfth century, ornamented with misshapen heads, crosses, and a serpent-kind of figure at either end. It is made out of a single block of fine grit-stone," and unlike most of the fonts on our programme, is oblong, with rounded corners. Against the north
AKtitteSBY MEETING. — REP6tlt 75
Wall, near the altar, is an elaborate sepnlohral nUb of the thirteenth ceatDiy, adorned nith a cross floiy, and covered with a riohly- folialed design.
Llangeinwen Church, next oo the programme bae no other ind calions of aptiqn tj except that the walls are strong and well bnill
Font, Lkugeinwea Church,
The font is a most beaatifal specimen of twelfth -cento r; work, resembling somewhat that at Llanidan. " The pnrity of design and freedom of touch suggest the work of a Bjiantiae or of the Bjzan- tineschool,"' Built into two of the buttresses on the north and sonth side of the cbui'ch respectiTely , are portions of incised sinbs with spiral ornament.
' Arch. Cam*., 1847.
76 CAMBftlAK AECH^OLOGlCAL ASSOClATtOK
Newborough Church, which Sir Stephen Glynne charncfcerised as having more variety of architecture than is asnal in Welsh churches, and ail anusnallj long interior, had, according to Mr. Longneville Jones in 1846, a choir "unequalled in Anglesey for pure and beautiful design, excellent material, and careful workmanship." He instanced the windows and doorway, where the external mouldings of the east window were as sharp and perfect as when first chiselled. This window and two others remain, exquisite specimens of the Decorated style, probably of the time of Edward I. But the rest of the churcli has undergone " restoration," so that the building is practically modern. The font, the only relic of the ancient Welsh churgh, is of exceedingly rude workmanship. Professor Westwood considered it to be pre-Norman, " the four sides ornamented with broad interlaced ribbons.''
A sepulchral slab of the fourteenth century has the inscription :
-h HlC ; JACET : 5DD : BARKER : CV : AlE ; PPICIET' : 3)-
Another stone has :
HlC : lACET : ELLENA : QVONDAM : VXOR : lEUAN.
A sepulchral slab^ 5 ft. 4 ins. by 1 ft. 9 ins., under an arched recess in the choir, has, running round the effigy, the inscription :
X HIC : lACET : DNS : MATHEVS : AP : ELY
CAPELLANVS : BE ATE : MARIE : N BERl : QVIQVE :
CES... V : AVE : MARIA : HA.
The parish has been called Rhosfair, Bhoshir, and Llanbedr, and at a still earlier time Llananno. It is noteworthy that the bur- gesses of Newborough in 1 630, in their petition for the renewal of their charter, begged that tiie name of the borough might be changed from Rhosheir to Newborough — " Et quod nomen de Bhos- keir mutetur in Novum Burgttm^ et quod habere poasint cartain de Rotkdan in puncto ad punctum.** It is frequently mentioned in the liecord of Carnarvon ; but notwithstanding the prestige attaching to it as the residence of Princes of Wales before the English occupa- tiou, and the privileges granted by Edward I, confirmed in sub- sequent reigns, no traces remain of municipal or commemal importance, or of the buildings belonging to the old palace.
LlangafTo Church (which was reached shortly after three o'clock) was rebuilt in 1840, but there are inside the building and in the churchyard a number of interesting stones. A mutilated cross on a rude pedestal, used as a sun-dial, has some carving, much defaced, chiefly of the key pattern. Other crosses of different periods are laid on the grass close to the porch, and by the pathway leading to the north-east entrance to the churchyard, and under the tower is a broken wheel- cross of elegant design. Worked into the
^ Theae are described and figured in an article in Arch, Oamb.j 1895.
ANGLESEY MEETING. — REPORT 77
churchyard wall outsida are several fragments of ornamental stone- work, with spiral and interlaced designs. The font is circular, of early date, rndely cat underneath, in order to adapt it to an octagonal hase.
In the vestry, together with other monumental slahs, is th« *' Frondeg Stone," the lower end of which is sunk beneath the floor. It is so called because in 1848, when Professor Westwood drew and rubbed it, it stood on the south-east side of the road from New- borough to Llangaffo, on the Brondeg Farm, forming the east part of a gateway into a field. In accordance with a resolution passed at the Bangor Meeting, 1860, it was removed, with the kind co-operation of our much-revered member, the late Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam, and inserted in the vestry wall of Llangaffo Church. " The two upper lines especially are doubtful, but the remainder may be read —
CVVRI CINI EREXTT HVNC LAPIDEM.
The letters are, for the most part, of Anglo-Saxon minuscule form, the elongated I's in the third line, x in the seventh, a in the ninth, atid D and m in the tenth line being especially worthy of notice."^
Arch, Camh.y 1898, p. 290, contains a note by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, with a sketch of this stone made '* a century ago by the Rev. Hugh Davies, Rector of Aber," which he considers more correct than any other drawing which he had seen.
Tower. — A short halt was made by some of the party to explore this building, once of two floors, now open to the sky, probably erected at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and used as a watch-tower against the approach of the roving pirates who then infested the Irish Channel.
Plas Berw was the last item on the programme, including a very welcome tea provided by the thoughtful kindness of Lady Reade. Plas Berw is a fine old mnnsion, built by Thomas Holland in 1615, with square mullioned windows and square tower. It was sur- rounded by a deer park, one part high above the house, the other down below it in the marsh. Over the doorway are the arnia of Thomas Holland, with the letters T H., the date 1615, and the pious motto, 80 characteristic of the time, ^* JDeua sola fortitudo mea est"
Some of the masonry is of an antique character, large and massive, and the doorways are composed of enormous blocks of stone. The walls of the older house, showing signs of fifteenth and sixteenth century workmanship, are standing on one side of a court- yard, at right angles to the present inhabited dwelling, which was added to the older house in the seventeenth century. It is said that the roofs of the older portion were destroyed by fire many years ago.
Berw is named from the cresses, and some very interesting particulars about the ancestors of the present owners of Plas Berw
» lapkL Ifo^/., p.l87.
78 CAMBRIAN ARCHiEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
are given in Arck, Camb,, 1868. After a hearty vote of thanks to Lady Reade had been proposed in his happy style by Sir Henry Howorth, the Cambrians made their way to Llangefni, which was reached shortly after six o'clock, not mnch later than arranged for in the programme.
THE EVENING MEETING.
The first Evening Meeting was held &t the Town Hall, Llangefni, at eight o'clock. The hall was well filled, a large nnmber of the towns-people being present, who followed the proceedings with great interest.
Archdeacon Thomas, the Chairman of Committee, taking the Chair, expressed his pleasure afc seeing so large a nnmber of members present, and, briefly reminding them of their pleasant and successful meeting at Carmarthen, wished them an equally pleasant and instructive meeting here in Mid-Anglesey. Not a little of that success had been due to tlie active, personal interest of their President, Sir John Williams, whose busy life and many engage- ments unfortunately prevented his occupation of the Chair at the present moment In his behalf, however, he had much pleasure in transferring it to his successor, who combined in his person not only the representation of one of the most ancient families in the island, but also the high distinction of representing our chief patron. His most Giticious Majesty the King, as his Lord-Lieutenant of Anglesey, Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, Bart.
The President, in a short address, while disclaiming any pre- tensions to antiquarian lore, referred to the value of arcbesology as a branch of history, important in its influence on general culture, and helping to solve many of the problems which troubled England at the present day.
Archdeacon Thomas, in thanking the President for his address, assured him that it was one of the main objects of their Association to create and foster an intelligent interest in local antiquities, and so to enable people to appreciate better the past, as well as the present, story of their surroundings. Love of home lay at the root of love of country. Arcbsoology wits the handmaid of patriotism. As he looked back along the lengthening vista of their Annual Meetings, he felt he could justly claim for them this tribute. In their migrations from north to south, and from county to county, he found that their visits had been not only pleasurable re-unions at the time, but that they had been accompanied in each locality by discussions of much interest and by papers of permanent value ; and their Journal, of more than sixty annual volumes, had now become a great storehouse of local and Celtic archsBology. In meeting this year in Central Anglesey they were specially fortunate, for the antiquities of the island had figured largely in Archasologia Cambrensis, Its earliest volumes abounded in valuable records, such as the Anti^uitates Parocfiiales of Henry Rowlands and the description
ANGLESEY MEETING. — REPORT 79
of old churches hy Longaeville Jones, and these had been followed up by other instrnctive articles by the Hon. W. Owen Stanley, by William Wynn Williams of Menaifron, and by Hugh Prichard of Dinam. And latest of all there was the valnable work of another of their members, Mr. J. E. Griffiths, on the cromlechs of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire. If the number of these still remaining crom- lechs, of prehistoric antiquity, did not of itself justify the claim of Anglesey to be the " Mother of Wales" — " Mdn Mam Cymru" — we had at least " the father of the Association" in one of its honoured residents, the Rev. Hugh Prichard, one of our Vice-Presidents, and in younger days an active worker in its field. When fifty years hence future Cambrians look back on our present as we ourselves do now on our past, may it be with equal satisfaction on the work done, and with not less hope on the widened and illumined field still lying before it.
Sir Henry Ho worth followed with some interesting remarks on the part played by the Celtic races in the progress and development of the Empire.
Mr. W. 0. Griffith, Chairman of the Llangefni Urban District Council, came forward to extend a welcome on behalf of the Council to the Cambrian ArchsBological Association. In an eloquent and well- delivered address Mr. Griffith said : ** We know the excellent work done by your Association both in its corporate capacity and through its distinguished members.
" With pride we remember that this county has yielded to your researches many wonderful secrets of the past, and that men of such untiring industry and conspicuous ability as the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, of Penrhos,- and the Rev. Hugh Prichard, of Dinam — the latter happily still with us — rendered yeoman service to your Association in its younger days.
" Our island appeals to you, through its monuments of remote antiquity— cromlechs, cinerary urns, cytiauV Gwyddelod and forts, the traces of the Iberian and even its place-names pregnant with the past. In spite of depredations by Roman, Goidel, Dane, and Saxon, we have much still remaining, too hidden or too subtle to be destroyed by vandal hands during the Middle Age. The princes of Aberffraw, the free Edwardian borough of Newborough, Ednyfed Fychan, and the Tudors in their time gave our county no mean place in the history of Wales and Britain.
*' In still later times we boast of William Jones, the friend of Newton, who, through the generosity of Lord Bulkeley, found his way to London, and had thus the opportunity which alone he required to have his name enrolled in the first rank of great mathe- maticians His son, Sir William Jones, laid sure foundations of comparative philology a hundred years before the German scholars who claim that distinction.
" This is the native soil of the Morrisiaid — incomparable brothers — whose racy and charming letters are now being placed within our reach, through the iadustry of one of your members, the able
80 CAMBBIAN ARGHifiOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
Registrar of the Universitj College of Wales, Aberystwyth. Here was bom GK)ronwj Owen, that hamble peasant boy
* Who Bitteth now among the blessed dead, Crowned with immortal song.'
'* In this very town we ha^e the very ohapels of John Elias and Christmas Evans, those great apostles of Nonconformity, who devoted their lives and geuias to the furtherance of everything that is noble and of good repute. And, finally, we most mention another son of the soil, Sir Hugh Owen, without whose faith in the father- land, wonderful devotion, and indomitable will the cause of higher education in the Principality might have been delayed a whole generation. This, then, is the land to which we heartily bid you welcome in the name of the town of Llangefni."
The address of welcome was seconded by Dr. J. R. Prytherch and Mr. Hugh Pritchard, Dr. Prytherch expressing a hope that the visit of the Association would further the scheme for establishing some memorial of the three talented brothers, ** Morrisiaid Mon.'*
Professor Anwyl then gave an abstract of his paper, a portion of which appears in the present number of the Archaeologia CamlrensiSf oil " The Early Settlers of Anglesey."
The Rev. W. Done Bushel 1 next delivered an address, illustrated by diagrams, on ** Monastic Remains on Caldey Island, off the Coast of Pe mbrokeshire. ' *
After briefly referring to the geographical position, and to the geological history of the island, Mr. Bushell reminded his hearers that it had had a long and close connection both with Celtic and Norman monasticism. We gather, he said, from the lives of St. Paul de L4on, St. Samseii, and others, that as early as the sixth century there was a monastery upon it, and there was a very close connection between it and St. llityd's school at Llantwit. Wromac, indeed, the author of the Life of St. Paul de Leon, goes so far as to assert that Illtyd himself resided on the island, and there taught his famous pupils^ David, Samson, Paul, and Gildas, whilst we are also told elsewhere that Dubricius used to spend his Lents upon it.
Again, in the time of Henry I, the island was, as Dugdale tells us, given by that monarch to Robert, son of Martin of Tours. By Robert it was given to his mother ; and she, in turn, with her son's assent, conveyed it to the celebrated monastery of St. Dogmael, a Benedictine house which followed the reformed rule lately introduced at Tiron, in the Diocese of Chartres, and in whose hands it remained until the Dissolution under Henry VIIT.
We may expect then, Mr. Bushell added, to find upon the island evidence both of the Celtic and the Norman domination. And so we do.
First, as to the Celtic occupation. There is the well-known Caldey Stone. This is a block of sandstonei with an incised cross,
ANGLESEY MEETING. — REPOKT 81
a Latin inscription below it, and an Ogham inscription round the edge. The Ogham inscription, as deciphered by Dr. Bhys, is
MAQL DUBR
which appears to mean *' the (tonsured) servant of Doborchon (or Dubricius)." The stone is well known, and would not have required much further notice from the lecturer, were it not that recently Professor Bnrkitt had suggested a new reading of the first two lines of the Latin legend. The version hitherto accepted is
& SINGNO CRUCIS IN ILLAM FINQSI ;
but for this, Professor Borkitt suggests :
X SIHGNO CRUCIS IH(U) ILTUTI FINGSI.
*' With the sign of the cross of Jesus, I Illtyd have fashioned (this monument)."
Mr. Bushell then described the island church, where recent alterations have brought to light two early arches, the one a Norman arch at the west end, the other of a very primitive character and of uncertain date. This church was restored by Mr. Kynaston in 1838, and before that time it is said to have been without a roof, and to have lost the south and east walls of the chancel. It is, however, at least as early as the twelfth century, and in the ground plan it recalls the early Irish churches described by Mr. Petrie and others. The inference seems to be that the church was built soon after the g^ft of the island to the St. Dogmael monks, and that it may have replaced an earlier Celtic edifice to which some portion of the existing walls may possibly belong.
Mr. Bnshell then passed on to a consideration of the priory build- ings, which were the home of the Norman monks. He explained that these remains, though very simple, were yet very complete, consisting of the usual cloister- garth, surrounded by the chapel* the refectory, the calefactory, the kitchen, porch, and guest-house in the positions usual in the Benedictine houses. The ^* Abbot's Tower," however, which forms the north-east portion of the monastery build- ings, gives us the impression of a fortalice erected at an earlier date for military purposes. He drew attention also to the alabaster reliquary which was dug out of a fissure in the rocks by Mr. Kynaston, to the chapel of St. Mary, which once occupied a site in the immediate neighbourhood of the present Caldey Lighthouse, to the round tower which overlooks the Galdey Boads, and to the remains of ecclesiastical buildings on the adjacent island of St Margaret.
The address was illustrated by a map of the island, by plans of the church and priory, and by a representation of the Caldey Stone.
At the close of the meeting, the original manuscript of Rowlands' Mona Antiqua was exhibited by Captain Warren Evans, .Henblas. Canon Davies, Rector of Qaerwen, also brought for exhibition the elegant silver chalice of Llanfihange) Ysceifiog, with date letter for 1601. It has a V-shaped bowl, chased with five plain flat panels Qth seb., vol. vm, 6
82 CAMBRIAN ARCHiBOLOQICAL ASSOOfATION
oontaining rosea and pomegraaates. One of the panels encloses a
plain shield with the pounced initials i Vy- ^ remarkable feature
is the cover, which is domed, having similar panels with the decora- tive foliage, and surmounted by a steeple, springing from three scrolled terminal figures. This is stamped with the date-letter for 1611.1
Some discussion arose as to the ecclesiastical character of the cup and its cover, some members being of opinion that it was a piece of domestic not ecclesiastical plate. This is supported hj the history of similar cups used as chalices at Greeting St. Mary, Suffolk ; Barford, St. Martin, Wilts. The Edmonds' Cup in Carpenters' Hall, London, with date 1613, should be compared with these.
Among other exhibits were the bucket found at TyV Dewin, Carnarvonshire, with its curious inscription, which was figured in Arch. Camb.f 1905 ; and the punch- bowl of Lewis Morris (Llewelyn Ddu o Fon). It is made of dark wood, varnished, with a legend running round in gilt letters :
" Hen phiol fuddiol iawn foddion — Uyniwyd £r Uonni cyfeillion Hoff anwyl, dymaV fifyonon ; Difyr o hyd yw'r dwfr hon."
EXOTrBSION 2.~WEDN£SDAT, AUGUST 28, 1907.
The second day of our meeting was as fortunate in conditions of weather as the previous day. Starting from Llangefni Station at 9.25 the party proceeded to Llanerchymedd, where some time was spent in examining the chorch, described by Mr. Longneville Jones as ^* one of the most notable ecclesiastical buildings of the island." The principal parts he referred to the beginning of the fifteenth century, though many important alterations had been made. The ease window in the chancel, we are told, was the same as the west window in the nave of Penmynydd Church, so far linking the date of erection of one church to that of the other. With the exception of the tower and the foundations of the walls of the rest of the building, the church was rebuilt about fifty years ago, and all features, including windows and chancel arch, destroyed.
The tower, a handsome well-proportioned structure in two stages, with no buttresses, partakes somewhat of the Pembrokeshire style, and has the singular arrangement of a bell-gable in the eastern parapet. The lower stage appears to be considerably older than the upper. The tower is approached only from the nave, through an interesting arched opening or doorway, very narrow with slightly- pointed head, constructed of unwroaght stones. The bell-gablet is
^ Piocese of Bangor Plate, p. 34.
ANGLESEY MEETING. — BEPORT 83
an elaborate modern feature, compared with that of simple nnpreten- tioTis design whioh formerly occnpied the same position, and is figured in Arth. Camb.^ 1859.
Meanwhile, some of the Cambiians who had detrained at Llan- gwyllog, examined an Early inscribed stone at Trescawen, the residence of Mr. J. H. Pritchard Rayner. A short paper was read by Mr. Edward Oweu, giving a history of its discovery : ** A little over a century ago the stone was lying neglected in the parish of Llantrisant, the same parish which contains the remains of the famous tumulas known as Bronwen's Grave. A Somersetshire clergyman named Skinner, following the example of Pennant, made tours through the country about 1800, and in due course visited Anglesey. He made careful notes of the places he had seen. He found the inscribed stone at a farm called Ty'n Rhosydd, of which he made a rough drawing, and a copy of the inscription. His numerous notebooks passed into the possession of a relative, at whose death they were left to the British Museum, on condition that fifty years should pass before they became available to the public. This expired some ten years ago, and Mr. Edward Owen communicated with the then treasurer of the Association, the late Mr. J. Lloyd Griffith, who proceeded to make inquiries about the stone. It had disappeared from Llantrisant, but was ulti- mately discovered at Trescawen, having been removed thither by the grandfather of the present owner." The stone is now in the park, a few minutes' walk from the house. In an otherwise excellent description of our excursions, given by one of the local news- papers, some remarks are made on this feature of the programme which require some correction. The reporter writes of the exami- nation of the Trescawen stone : " As this was the single fresh object to come either under the personal examination of the members of the Association, or to be written upon in the Arch. Camb., it was felt that special attention should be paid to the inscription." In the subsequent description of Mr. Skinner's record of it the im- pression is conveyed that the stone had continued unknown until some ten years ago. The fact is, that so far from this stone being ** a fresh object," a full account of it is given by Professor West- wood in Lapidarium Wallice, p. 193, in which he refers to a memoir sent to the Arch. Journal, September, 1870, by one of our members, the Hon. W. O. Stanley, giving an account of what is there called the *' Ty'n Rhosydd Stone." Mr. Stanley again mentions the stone in the Arch. Camh.y 1875, p. 127, and adds that the inscription had pazzled the learned, but that his brother-in-law, Mr. Albert Way, who had been greatly interested in the matter, had found an instance on an altar in the Roman Wall from Mr. Bruce's collec- tion of Roman inscriptions, being upon an altar dedicated to Ditdpltna Augusti, It is a rare word, but is found on the reverse of coins of Hadrian, who was the greatest of imperial disciplinarians. Another member of our Association, the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, made a fresh sketch and further notes of the stone, showing it to be
84 CANfBRIAN ARCH^OLOOICAL ASSOCIATION
broader and much less regularly shaped than in Mr. Stanley's woodcat.
It had undergone mnch ill-treatment and matilation, having been placed on the farm adjoining Ty'n Bhosydd to serve as a rubbing- stone for cattle, and afterwards removed to form a gatepost at the entimnce into the farmyard. The inscription, which is in Roman letters and was a century ago legible only in part to Mr. Skinner, has further suffered much, especially in the middle part, from long exposure to the elements. Photographs and careful rubbings were taken.
Professor Westwood remarks : '' On examining the stone care- fully, and its peculiar shape, like the lid of a modem coffin, I fancied that the original stone had been worked into this shape for a later interment, and that the first inscription had been iutei*fered with, as some letters at the edge of the stone seemed to have been cut in half."
The main division of the archedologists was timed to reach Oarreg y Lleidr, Clorach, and Ffynnon Seiriol at 10.35, when the inter- esting legends which have gathered round these spots were duly recited. The first named, called the Thiefs Stone, is a rough stone of peculiar shape, about 6 ft high, showing from one point of view a kind of hump or projection near the top. The country people have a tradition that a thief who had stolen some books from a neighbouring church was changed into stone with the sack contiiining the stolen books lying on his shoulder. An illustration is given in Arch, Camb., 1867, p. 346.
We may be pardoned for quoting here the lines wntten by Matthew Arnold, in which he refers to the two saints " Seiriol the Bright " and " Cybi the Dark ''—
** In the bare midst of Anglesey they show
Two springs which close by one another play, And ' thirteen hundred years agone,' they say, ' Two saints met often where these waters flow.' "
Modem improvements have caused the disappearance of one of these two springs, and it is of good omen to Anglesey that the remaining well should be that called after the " Saint of bright countenance."
Llanfihangel Tre*r Beirdd was reached soon after eleven o'clock. The church, which was of the fifteenth century, single-aisled, with no distinction between nave and chancel, has been practically rebuilt. The bellcot, which in Mona Mediasva is considered worthy of illustra- tion as of excellent design, has been destroyed. In the churchyard is a small Early cross, raised on three steps, with no sculpture. Other stone remains lay about, and several interesting slabs and memorial tablets are built into the walls of the church. The visitors were interested to notice in the Parish Register entries of the baptism of two members of the Morris family. Under the date March 2, 1 701, the entry is, " Lewis, sonne of Morris ap Richard
/
/
/
m
t //I V •■• . w . t*
_ _r ■•• • . r\ • ^ . • * •••At 1' J •
f*
.12-
^.
rf.^
■ ■ ■_ I
.'.'^
^«>^h<
The Ty'n Rhosydd Stone, now at Trescawen. Drawn by Mr. Wort/iiiiffton Smith from rubbings.
7^^
p^ce-r.
/^^
k.*:;-;
ANGLESEY MfiETtNG. — HEPOM 85
Cooper, and Margaret his wife"; and Febmaiy 7, 1702, ^'Bichard, the Sonne of Morris Richard Cooper, and Margaret his wife."
The next halt was made at Llaneugrad Church, a small building possibly of the twelfth century, altered in the fourteenth or fifteenth, with additions made in the seventeenth century.
In the vestry is an inscription which in 1859 was on the pulpit :
IB : AB • ANNO • DOMI : 1644.
The font, belonging to the original church of the twelfth century, is circular, on three steps. An ancient crucifix is inserted over the south doorway.
The carriages next proceeded to Parciau. This is a comparatively modern house, built by the father of our host, Major Williams. Sir John Bodvel, a celebrated Royalist knight, who in 1648 signed a declaration in favour of King Charles, lived at Bodvel Hall, which is supposed to have stood near the farm bnildings. Mnch interest was taken in a well-designed dovecot of Elizabethan date, possibly of the same period as the pictu]*esque old doorway leading into the grounds, which bears the date 1575.
At Parciau the party, grown larger than even on the first day, was very hospitably entertained to lancheon by Major Lawrence Wilh'ams. The thanks of the archaeologists for this courteous hospitality having been expressed by Professor Sayce and Mr. T. E. Morris, a move was made for Pardau Village. This early settle- ment is situated on the crest of the bill overlooking Parciau mansion, and is described in Arck. Camb,y 1867, p. 110.
Colonel Morgan observes : '* This camp, which stands on a plateau on a low hill, is defended on the north-east and south by natural escarpments. On th» west it is defended by a rampart 10 ft. high, constructed mainly of stone, stretching across the ridge of the hill. It stands above a shallow ditch, which apparently is cat in the solid rock.
*' There is a second diteh and rampart, now mnch mutilated and destroyed, at such a distance from the main work as to suggest at once that it peHains to later Romano-British times.
*' Another still farther ditch is laid down on the plan of 1867, but this was no longer recognisable as such. It is possible that it was overlooked, but the whole of these outworks seem to have been mnch altered since that date, especially the terraces as now seen on the south-west side, which look more like scratchings for stones than the ramparts as delineated in the plan.
" The form of defence of which this camp is an example comes under Class A, according to the classification of the Earthwork Committee, i.e,<, ' A fortress partly inaccessible by reason of preci- pices, cliffs, or water, additionally defended by artificial banks or walls.'
" It is to be regretted tliat such classification should have been adopted. Similar plans of defence have been employed in all ages, and are not peculiar to any particular race or period. The principles
8d CAMBRIA.N ARCHifiOLOGICAL ASSOOIAtlON
which inspired the most primitive sava^s to constrnot defences with the least expenditure of labour, consistent with the greatest efficiency, hare continued down to the present day."
Llanallgo Church, where the party was due at 2.40, had to be omitted owing to pressure of time, and the Cambrians proceeded to Lligwy, the residence of Lord Boston, on their way examining Lligwy Cromlech, so remarkable for the enormous capstone, and the curious markings on the sides. His Lordship, who was accom- panied by Lady Boston, after welcoming his visitors, gave a short account of the circumstances under which he had undertaken the excavation of the remarkable structures known as " Din Lligwy." He introduced Mr. E. Neil Baynes, his relative, under whose able superintendence the work of excavation for the last two years had been conducted on thoroughly scientific lines. Mr. Baynes then read his paper, which will appear with full illustrations in Arch. Camb. The following is a summary of the chief points :
Before giving an account of the excavations at '* Din Lligwy," Mr. Baynes mentioned that five or six other groups of " Gyttiau Gwyddelod," or hut-foundations, were to be found in the Lligwy valley. One is on Bodafon mountain, four at Parciau,and the last about a quarter of a mile south of the spot where they were assembled, also on the edge of the Lligwy rock. The earliest reference to the spot is apparently to be found in Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia (1695), where the editor infers that the " Hibernioorum casules" referred to by Mr. Camden must be the same as the *^ Irish Cotts," to be seen in a wood near '* Llygwy."
Rowlands, in Mona Antiqua (1723), makes no mention of the site, but Miss Angharad Llwyd, in her History of Mona (1833), states that the most remarkable Cyttiau Gwyddelod are in a wood near *' Llygwy," once the property of the Lloyds. Skinner, in 1802, visited the place, and in liis MS. Tour through Anglesey gives a description of the spot and a ground plan, which is, however, not very accurate.
In 1867 the Rev. Wynii Williams, of Menaifron, visited the site, and in the same year published au article, together with some sketches, in the Arch, Camb, The soil being then covered with trees and undergp^owth, opportunities for examination were not very favourable, and his only '' finds" were one piece of blackish pottery, some fragments of bone, and numerous sea-shore shells.
The walls are composed of limestone slabs, evidently found or split off on the spot, and they are all what are known as dry walls, no mortar having been used. The slabs are set in a double row about 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart, tho intervening space being filled in with rubble*
Some of the stones are of considerable size, one of the largest being 11 ft. 9 ins. long, 13 ins. thick, and about 4 ft. wide.
Assuming that the walls were originally about 5 ft. or 6 ft. high, a large number of stones have evidently been removed. The enclosure covers rather over half an acre. It is surrounded by five
AKOLteSEY MfiE^riNG. — ftEPOUT 87
straight walls, measmiDg 171 fi 6 ins. on the north, 113 ft. on the west, 142 ft. 3 IDS. on the south, 83 ft. 6 ins. on the south-east, and 109 ft. 6 ins. on the north-east. On the north, outside, are the remains of a curved wall.
The entranoe appears to have heen on the north-east side. Exca- ▼atioBS were commenced, with Lord Boston's consent, in Maj, 1905, and continued at intervals down to the present time. Two circular chambers, respectively 33 ft. and 32 ft. in diameter, and four practi- cally rectangular chambers, measuring from 34 ft. to 55 ft. in length, have been uncovered. The walls vary from about 5 ft. to 6 ft. in thickness, and in three cases the entrances are from 6 ft. to 9 ft. in width. In two chambers only is the floor-level well defined.
The '* finds'' included fragments of pottery of the following descrip- tions: Coarae g^ey, yellow, reddish, and black pottery; black Romano- British pottery ; thin red Roman pottery ; red Gaulish ware (pseudo Samiau) ; and dark blue slip ware. Thin sheet bronze, ingots of silver and lead, a piece of crystal, fragments of Roman glass, spindle-whorls, and a bone bead were also found, and coins of Tetricus, Gonstantine the Great, Crispos, Constantius II, and Gonstaos. Among the iron objects discovered were nnils of diflferent lengths and shapes, a flesh- hook, part of a knife with a bronze washer, a ring, a " strike- a-light," etc. Horns and bones of red deer, roe-deer horns, bone implements, flint implememts, a few bird bones, and an immense number of teeth and bones of domestic animals were picked up ; also pounding-stones, stone pallets, metallic slag, and shells of limpet, periwinkle, mussel, cockle, and oyster. ProlMibly the most important **find" has been that of Roman or Romano-British pottery repaired with clamps made of irOn instead of pewter or lead, which were the metals usually employed for this purpose. Mr. Baynes then dealt with the question of the possible dates of the original colony and the present enclosure, the latter of which he submitted was to be found in Romano-British times. The flint implements show that the spot has been inhabited by man from very early times.
The remains of a curved wall, some 200 ft distant to the west, probably mark the extreme boundary of the onginal village in this direction, and the large stones, which formed part of the curved wall on the north of the present enclosure, doubtless formed the boundary at this point
The old village, of which the two circular chambers and the two portions of curved wall alone remain, was, in Mr. Baynes's opinion, Goidelic. The enclosure, as it now stands, with certainly two of its rectangular chambers, he suggested, was erected under Roman influence, if not under direct Roman supervision, about the com- mencement of the second century. If " Din Lligwy" was actually occupied or controlled by the Romans, some of the coins discovered point to the evacuation having taken place at the end of the fourth century.
Professor Sayce said that he must begin his remarks by con- gratulating Lnrd Boston, and more especially Mr. Baynes, upon
88 CASiBRIAK ARCHi^OLOmCAti ASSOGIAftolf
the carefal and soientific way in which the ezoayationB had been cond acted, and the aniqne and most interesting discovery to which they had led. The work was an object-lesson which he hoped wonld find many imitators in Wales. The date of the setHement that had been discovered seemed to be clearly the fonrth century of onr era. That was indicated by the pottery as well as by the coins. The few worked flints that had been found had either been lying in the soil before the settlement was established or were a survival from an earlier period of culture, such as is met with elsewhere on Romano-British sites. Gunflints are still manufactured in Norfolk. The settlement itself must have been a mining one. This was sliown by the objects that had been disinterred — the ten ingots of silver, and, above all, the iron slag. The fact, too, that broken pottery had been mended with iron rivets pointed to the abundance of that metal on the spot and the skill of the settlers in working it. Their graves cannot be far off.
Colonel Morgan, on being called upon to give his opinion, said : '* There is nothing more to be added to the excellent paper by Mr. E. N. Baynes. The last word has been said about this remark- able enclosure. There seems now a consensus of opinion that it is a mining station of Romano-British type.
"But as regards the object of the wall itself, there may still be a difference of opinion, that is, that it never was intended to be manned for defence, but was simply the enclosure wall to protect the village from marauders or wild beasts. No doubt, when piratical bands were rumoured to be in the neighbourhood, the peasants of the district would resort to such a place for mutual protection, and these marauders, if they attempted to surmount the wall, would have met with a warm reception, but in no sense of the word can it be considered to be a fortress, or even a camp "
Tea was served in a marquee on the lawn, and the many inter- esting *' finds," carefully labelled, were exhibited. After a hearty vote of thanks to Lord and Lady Boston, prop68ed by Archdeacon Thomas and seconded by Canon Davies of Gaerwen, the visitors proceeded to Fenrhos Lllgwy Ohurch, on which a paper had appeared in the Arch. Camb., 1864, written by the late ijord Boston. The only interesting feature to the archadologists within the church is the stone —
HIC lACIT
MACOVDECCETI
It was supposed by Rowlands, Mona Antiqtta, to commemorate St. Mechell, or Macutus, Bishop of St<. Malo, who was said to give his name to Llanfechell, though buried in Penrhos Lligwy. Mr. R. Brash contended that Maccui was no name at all, but the genitive of Mac, and that the inscription, in debased Roman characters, was in memory of the son of Decetus. He quoted three inscriptions found in Ireland, and remarked thai the finding of the name Decceda or Degad *' in the exbreme south-west of
ANGLESEY ilEfiTlKG. — REtflRT
90 CAMfeRlAN AECH^EOLOOiCAt ABSOCIAtlOtl
Ireland, in Angleaef, and on & oertam direct line of transit, showed the progress of the Oaedhil from we«t to east. It would appear that they had abandoned the ane of Ogham before the; crossed into
Sbuft of Cn<u, Penrhoi Lligwy, with Crow uf Bellcot. {Photographed by Mr. jVeff Bagnei.)
North Wales. On the other hand, Sonth Wales, which was occupied by Monster Gaedhil of the race of Eibher, has preterved to ns, as evidence of occapation, ten Oghams. Therefore, I think that North Wales was oconpied after the settlement in South Wales."
ANQtteSBY MEi!TtNG. — RilPORt &1
In the churchyard was a portion of a cross whicH had been removed from the old bellcot in 1845, and fixed on the shaft of the old cross.
The party had been inyited by Mrs. Williams Mason to visit Plas Bodafon. This invitation was with deep regret declined, as the train at Llanerchymedd at 7.54 had to be mot, and the whole party, tired ont after a long day, though full of interest and in most enjoyable weather, were not sorry to reach Llangefni at 8.20.
EXCVB8I0N 8.— THUBSDAY, AXTOXTST 29.
The third day of the Anglesey meeting was not so favoured in weather as the two preceding days. There were heavy rain-showers on Wednesday night, and when the cortege started from the Boll Hotel, Llangefni, at 9.45, dark lowering cloads only too surely presaged the heavy downpour and soaking which was the lot of the antiquaries later in the day. It began to drizzle before Llan- ddyfnan was reached at 10.20. Attention was called in passing to Plas Llanddyfnan, the house of John Griffith, "an ingenious anti- quary," and to the Boman Boad, Lon Bwbach (Hobgoblin Lane), but the first halt was at Llanddyfhaii Church. This churcli consists of three distinct portions — chancel, nave, and additional nave — the whole of good Early Perpendicular. The principal entrance is throupfh the south porch, but in the north wall there is a doorway and entrance, with some of the characteristics of Early Pointed work. The drip-stone terminates on either side in two grotesque monsters, whose tails and limbs occupy the place of the usual return of the drip. Mr. Longueville Jones, describing the condition of the church in 1844, mentions that a stoap for holy water was placed on the east side of the north door, and another by the south door, while close by stood the font, a plain octagon. A wooden minstrel gallery, of the seventeenth century, occupied the west end, and in the chancel arch were remains of a screen. The windows were of good Early Perpendicular work, the east window being one of the best proportioned in the island. He declared it to be " one of the better churches, and one of the most remarkable in Anglesey.*'
In 1846-7 the church was repaired throughout. All the main features of the exterior, except the bell-gable, were preserved, the workmanship good. The old windows, we are told, were taken as models for the reconstruction of those past repair. St. Dyfnan, to whom the church is dedicated, is stated to be " buried within the building.'*
The south doorway, which is approached through a modern porch, is the most striking feature in the church. On either side are niches (with crocketed canopies and crouching monsters as corbels) containing figures, on the west side a female with hood.
92 CAMBRIAN ARCHi£0L06ICAL ASSOOlATtOK
and book in hand ; on the east side a male fignre, long-robed, with book in hand and a nimbas round the head.
The borders on either side the niches contain inscriptions now mach weathered.
Above the doorway was a third niche, with sculptured figures to represent the Trinity, the head of the Father appearing above the crucified Saviour; the dove, representing the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, having possibly been chipped away. On either side and at the foot of the cross were angels. In the spandrels of the doorway were the figures of two dogs and a hart and a hind. The keystone of the arch of this doorway bore the uppermost of two heads, the lower one, sculptured into, being visible to the spectator on looking up as he passed under the arch.
A large mnen hir in the adjoining field was inspected by some of the archsBologists.
The party then returned to the carriages, passing, without stop- ping, the tumuli and graves on Ty*n y pwll Farm, Llanbedr Goch, described by Mr. Harold Hughes in Arch, Camb,y 1903 ; on through Pentraeth, with its interesting tombstones of notable families of the seventeenth century; past Plas Gwyn, with its portraits of native Bishops of Bangor; Trefor Bias cromlech and the David Hughes alm.shouses.
The weather, not very promising at the start, had become most unfavourable. The rain descended in torrents, driving at times so pitilessly that the most enthusiastic of the archsBolog^sts had little spirit remaining in them, and the only hope left was that so fierce a storm must shortly exhaust itself, and be succeeded by some fine weather, when the main object of the day*s expedition — Din Sylwy — was reached. This hope, however, was not realised. The road at the foot of the camp had become a torrent bed, along wliich the party was obliged to wade or jump as they made a rush for shelter in the farm buildings near the church. The farmer very kindly gave up to the ladies his little kitchen, where they made themselves as comfortable as circumstances woald allow. Luncheon was served in the barn, and the large majority of the party were content with this unsatisfactory termination of a long and miserable drive, without seeking to mount the hill and follow the lines of the camp.
Bin Sylwy. — Colonel Morgan has kindly supplied the following notes of his observations, referring to the full description which is given in Arch, Catrib,^ 1869 : —
" This remarkable camp was visited under the most unfavourable circumstances, of thick mist and heavy rain, and a long distance to drive ; yet even the short time which could be spent on the hill was well worth the inconveniences.
*' The enclosure wall of parallel rows of upright slabs, filled in with smaller stones, which winds round ihe undulations of the hill top, is now in such a ruinous condition that no conclusion can be
"°°"'"' '^Mv™^ c.„^.
AN'QLESBY MBKTIHO. — REPORT 93
formed aa to tho original form. The m&in entrance hIiII ehows TinaiiBtalrable aigaa of Boman inflnenoe, and this alone ib anfficient to identify it na a Roman o-British vork. The enclosores on tbe plateaa are coDBistent with Boch date, and were evideatlf a part of the ori^nal work."
Llamfilangel Din Sylwy. — Some rentnresome folk, after braring the elementB on the headland and makinff the oircait of the great camp, called Din Sylwy and Bwrdd Arthur, proceeded to ioBpeot the little church at its foot. In ifona Mediceua it is deBoribed as "in itself exceedingly Bimplo, bnt valaahle an showing, on the smallestscale, whnt aparochial chnrah may be. Originally, there was no window at all in the nave, bat of laf« days a small sqnare glazed
LlflDflhangel Din Sylwy Church. (Pholograpktd by Rev. E. Ecani.)
aperture lias been made in the south nail." At the north-weHt angle of the choir stands the movable carved pnlpit, of oak, with patterns apparently bnmt oat, the marks of charring being very evident. It bears the inscripEJon, "In the Name of y* father of y° sonne of
the holy Gost Amen 0 B
16 28."
A aimtlar pulpit is preserved in Llangoed Ohnrch.
Ae there was no likelihood of any improvement in the weather, it was determined that the rest of the day's programme shonld be abtindoned, and that all should make at once for Lluagefni. A small number stopped at Llansadwrii, where the Rev. Evan Evnns and Mrs. Evans had provided an ezoellent tea in the chnrch-room, and set ont a number of draivingB and objects of arohsso logical
94
CAMBBIAN ABCH£0LOOI0AL ASSOCIATION
iatereit for the inBpectioQ of (heir Tiaitors.> A hot cap of tea waa most acceptable, and onr hosts were warmly thanked ; bnt as it waa dangerons to linger witli chilled feet and soaked clothing, the energetic secretaries packed ns all off as carriages were available.
EXCTTRSION 4.— FRIDAY, AUQIT8T 80.
On Friday, in deligbtfnl contrast to the disastrous weather of
" Soaking Thnrsdny," the sky was cloadless and bright, aud this, the
|J^^''^^|^|^
last day of the meeting, wa^ the moat pleasurable though inferior in interest to the archeeologist hb
mpnred with
I A clmrt 14 ft. long, shawing the descent of the Anglesey SaiaU from Cunedda, Brychan, and Cnw. A model of a church (wattle), nud a circular hut. Several atone and broDze implementa. Photogiapha of all the Anglesey churches (takan by Mr. Evans). Rubbings of inscribed stones and wpulchral slaba and tracings of figures in old church windows.
ANQLB8EY MBETING. — REPORT 95
the other days. Leaving Llangefai Station at 9.25 for Bhosgoch Station, the party, once more enthusiastic and eager, after a good night's rest^ carefully dried and "restored,'* took up their carriages for Llanhabo Church, which was reached at 10.35.
This is one of the two Anglesey churches still remaining nnrestored An appeal is being made for funds to carry out the restoration, which, we believe, will be carried out under the supervision of our talented member, Mr. Harold Hughes. A small sum was collected on the spot, which will be handed over, with additional donations received since, to the Rector, the Rev. Thomas Davies, Llanddeusant Kectory.
The church is described by Mr. M. H. Blozam as *' a lowly and unpretending structure, without external division between chancel and nave, of the fourteenth century, on the site of a more ancient ohnrch." The south doorway, according to a writer, Arch, Camb,, 1870, was part of a much older structure, and it was questioned whether it was not made up of a larger and more ornamental door- way, this supposition being supported bv *' the irregular manner in which the zigzag mouldings [chevron J are put together.*' This chevron moulding, which is chiefly threefold, is distinctive of Norman work, in this case, from its rude character, of an Early period. In the centre of the arch and at either end are three rudely-sculptured heads, the middle one being more distinct and larger than the other two, and traditionally supposed to represent St. Pabo, his son, and his daughter. There is a fourth head built into the churchyard wall externally.
In the north wall of the chancel is a low side window, '* formerly used by friars, who traversed the country for ' utter confession' " (Bloxam). The font is circular, a very Early example on two steps. The church takes its name from King Pabo, one of the earliest of British Saints, Prince of North Britain. He gained his title of Pabo Post Prydain (the Pillar of Britain) by valour in fighting against invaders. About a.d. 460, outnumbered by the foe, he retired to Anglesey, resolving to devote himself to a noly life. The ground on which the church stands he is said to have obtained from Gaswallon Llaw hir.
Against the south wall of the nave, inside the church, is placed the large incised slab which once covered St. Pabo's reputed grave. It measures 5 ft. 8 ins. by 2 ft. 6 ins., the Head crowned with simple circlet and three fleur-de-lis, the hair wavy, the chin bearded. In right hand is a sceptre. The Tunic has pocket-hole openings at the side, and over the tunic is a regal pallium. The inscription in Longobardic letters is imperfect, reading in 1870 —
HIO : JACET : PAfBO] • POST : PRUD :
The sculptor who designed and executed this sepulchral figure appears to have sculptured that of St. lestyn in Llaoiestyn Church, and the Eva effigy in Bangor Cathedral.
Lewis Morris, describing the discovery of the atone, refers to an
CAMBKIAK ARCHAOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
anciept tradition in the pnriBh that, Pabo with his soa a were buried in the clmrohjard opposite their faces
id danghter in tbe wall.
_"ri:~"aMii°' . ■
-■^.=^
Llanbnbo Church ; Duorway. {Phulo-jraphed '„j Dr. Xomvii..)
" Abont Charles H's time, the sexton in digging a grave found a stone. He picked some of the letters, and broke the corner before he knew it nas a tombstone "
lHctsu> Slab and Font, Llanbabo Chuecu.
rh-iltxiraphed 1.1/ Dr. yonaan.
ANGLESEY MEETING. — KEPORT 97
Some remarks were made by Sir Henry Ho worth upon the door- way with these faoes. He did not aocept the theory that the oheyrons indicated Norman orij^n.
'* The only obstacle,'* he said, " so far as I can see to dating this chorch before the Gonqaest is the character of the zigzag mouldings it contains. Upon this point I have always been a heretic. The ^gsag mouldings in doors, arches, and windows in churches called Norman have always seemed to me to be derived from the practice of carpenters rather than masons, and to have been distinctly a feature of wooden architecture.
" Secondly, it is quite a late feature in the churches of Normandy itself. In churches like the two great abbeys at Caen, the date of which we know, and which were built by the Conqueror and his wife, there is no trace of this ornament Where it is found in Normandy, it was, I believe, imported from England by our Norman kings who ruled in both countries, and by their great vassals who had estates in both countries.
''In England itself it is much more frequent in the earliest examples in tlie North of the country, and prevails in the South chiefly in those of the beginning of the twelfth century. It prevails therefore in what may be called Scandinavian England, the England of the Danegeld, which was settled by Norwegian and Danish hrmera.
'' When these foreigners were converted to Christianity after the accession of Cnut, they proceeded to rebuild the old churches and to build new ones, and there was a great renaissance in consequence in architecture, which during the previous century and a half had been paralysed in this country owing to the devastations of the pirates.
" It was then, I believe, that the zigzag mouldings were first introduced. They are quite Scandinavian in character, and are found widely distributed among the wooden buildings of the far North, notably in the Cathedral of Trondhjem and in many of the older farmhouses. It seems to me, therefore, that this kind of ornament in our churches may be attributed to any period after the conversion of the Danes to Christianity, and by no means implies, as has sometimes been thought, a Norman date for the buildings in which they occur."
Archdeacon Thomas thought it improbable that Danes were builders of churches in Wales, because they were called by the Welsh ^*paganiaid duon,** black pagans. To this Sir Henry replied that he was not referring to the Danes of the early invasions, but to the great Scandinavian kingdom founded by Canute. He believed that many of the pre-Norman churches of England were really Danish. Canute was a monarch of deep religious instincts, and, as was well known, built several churches.
Archdeacon Thomas pointed to the effigy of King Pabo as the chief object of interest in the interior, and thought it was a work of the early fourteenth century: the Lombardic lettering, the rude 6th bkr., vol. vni, 7
98
CAMBRIAN ARCHJEOLOOrCAL ASSOCIATION
qQRbrefoil with wbtoh it was oraamented aud tbe flear-de-lis at tbo h«ad of the soeptre pointed to that date ; he aleo noticed that a small windon had been closed up in tbe sontb wall, nhicb had onoe lighted the rood lofl, and that in the anmbry in tbe north wall there was a pewter plate. The cnp (not seen] was described b; Mr. Alfred Jones in The Church PlaU of the Dioette of Bangor, an admirable work, as "An Elisabatban silver cbalica, the bowl engraved with the nsnal plain, doable strap-work, intersecting three times, and enclosing the conventional sprays of foliation . . . with the London date-letter for 1574." He said it wns pleasant for tbom as archseologists to dnd an nnrestored cbnrch like this with so mauj points of interest both inside and oat«ide; but it wonid be still more pleasant to find such a ohnroh reverently secnred from decay and rightly treated. That it was intended to do this he gathered from the leaSet pot into their hands, and be had great confidence from what he had seen of Mr. Harold Hnghen's work elsewhere thut he had the scientific knowledge and the archeologicFil spirit to tr«at it as it ahoald be treated. He recommended that the carved head now in the chnrcfayard wall should at tlie same time be brought into tbe obnrch. He added that their visit and interest in the church would be appropriately shown if they made some small contribution towards the cost.'
The next stop was at a farm, where the Llanol Stone (a fragment) bad been brought for inspection. It is mentioned by Mr. Skinner, and by Lewis Morris in his letters. Some robbings were taken, and tbe lettera are made ont to be CTTOBtOH » .
Llanfechell Church was next visited. Mr. Longneville Jones, writing in 1862, remarks that this is " one of the more remarkable chnrcbesoftbe island, holding a place of similar importanoe, though not of equal arohiteotnral interest, with that of Llaneilian. It has a
• The fruit o( this BUjjjestioo was the additi
\£ £5 to the funda.
ANGLESEY MEETING. —REPOltT
99
single aisle divided into cfaancel and nave, nitb tower at west end, and a small chapel on the soath aide of the nave."
The bnilding naa mnch altered, if not entirely rebnilt, during the latter part of the fifteenth centnrj.^
" The tower at first sight seem^ fornied far dHpenca, 35 Ft. high, entered, like that of Llaneilian, only from within the nave. It was used as a pigeon-house, and may very probably have been intended
Llanfecbell Ckorch : Doorwsj and SUb with Flomted Crow.
for that purpose at the period of erection." There 19 the shaft of a cross in the churchyard. Opposite the south door is a sepulchral slab, with floriated croaa of the fourteenth century.
The south doorway has a plain semioircnlar arch. " The east window, of three lights (we are told by Mr. Longueville Jones), has hardly its equal in the island."
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CAMBRIAN ARCHAOLOOICAL ASSUCIATIOK
Sir S. R. Gl/nne, in bis aoconnt of the olinrcb, in«ntionB t, figure of Muchntna unongat the remaina of kImb. But tliia appears to ha*e been mistaken for a frHgrnent of a window, which represents the orncified Savionr with the Father's head above (as in the Bonlptored figure in Llandd;fnan Charoh), hot no represeatation of the Holy Spirit.
The font ia sqnare, with two cironlar arches of Norman charaot«r OD the east side, like the font at Llanddenaant.
(Pro.
At a short distance from the chorch, on rising gronnd, are three pillar Btonea, sot in a triangle, 10 ft. above gronnd. The farm on which they stand is called " Cromlech." As the party was already mnch behind the time fixed in the programme, the carriagea pro- ceeded at once for Cemmaes, where an elaborate lanoheon had been provided in the hall of the Village Institnte on the invitation of the Rev. John Williamn, of Llwyn Idris, and hia brother-in-law, Mr. James Venmore, of Wylfa.
When fall justice had been done to the excellent lanoheon, Sir Henry Howorth, in proposing a vote of thanks to the kind hosts (which was seconded by Mr. Ellia Griffith, U.P., and carried with acclamation), referred in a hnmoroas speech to the fine bnilding which the village of Cemmaes was fortnnato to possess,* and expressed the hope that the rich people of Liverpool would provide a museum for the island, and atao that the children would be encouraged to take an interest in the antiquities oT their own island, and that, above all, the Anglesey people would exercise a vigilant supervision over the monnments which had come down to them from pEist ages. Explorations and excavations were not to be tsken in hand promiscuously by all kinds of volunteers and araatenrs. This expression of opinion from so capable an expert was heartily greeted by the audience.
After some delay, caused by the late arrival of some members who had visited the pillar stones, a start was made for the last object in the programme, I ilaneilian Church, Llanbadrig Church being
' "The David HughsB VilUge Hull," its it ie Btyled, coniaiodiout and of admtiable proportiona, wm erected nod presented ta the vilU^ of Cemmaes, August 17, 13BB, b; the late Mr. David Hugbea, of Liverpool
AN(}LtSBY IdEBTtKG. — llBPOllT 101
omitted owing to the loss of time earlier in the day. It was even found ueceasarj to defer the return by rail to Llangefni to a later honr, and a snggestion was made that the Business Meeting of the Association should be held at Amlwoh. This was found, on con- sideration, to be impracticable, as the Reports of the Committees and the lists of new members to be elected had been left at Llangefni. A delightful drive of several miles through Amlwch brought the party to Llaneilian Church, overlooking Eilian Bay, in many respects the most remurkable church yisit^ed during the week. According to Mr. Longueyille Jones, *'The church is a hand- some building, well 6nished, doubtless erected in quiet, prosperous times. The general character of the internal woodwork is much later than that of the stonework. The roofs of nave and chancel are apparently of the beginning of the sixteenth century, the earliest date on one of the seats is 1535, and parts of the internal fittings are as late as 1690. From this it may be inferred that the church took a considerable time to build, and was finished only by degrees."
A doorway and circular newel staircase at the south-east comer of the nave leads up by a turret to the fifteenth century rood-loft. This, though *' quite perfect" in 1861, was, at the period of our visity insecure. It stands over a massive screen. The front of the loft towards the nave, above the projecting canopy, is panelled, and the cornice mouldings filled with the usual vine and oak or ivy- leaf pattern. The chancel contains the original stalls and desks, with poppy-heads^ rude but in good condition. The principals of the chancel roof, which is fiat, have spandrels rudely cut into vigorous representations of seaweed, and resting on corbels, with boards affixed representing angels playing on trumpets and bag- pipes.
The altar is a large chest of wood, elaborately carved, with the legend, ** Non nobisy Domine^ non nobis ^ sed nomini too, 1634."
The most distinctive feature of the church is the small chapel or cell detached but connected by a short passage lighted by two small windows. This Chapel of St. Eilian, as it is called, is said tradi- tionally to have replaced an older building standing on the site of the Saint's cell, and is of the same date and style as the rest of the church. The passage connecting it with the church was a later addition at the end of the seventeenth century.
The cell measures 14 ft. 6 ins. by 12 ft 6 ins., with two windows, and recesses for seats. There is no fireplace, but the absence of a
Sisoina is thought by some to indicate that it is not a chapel, [r. Blozam, writing in 1874, believed it to be a Domus indtm, or abode of an anchorite, probably a priest, and hence the con- nection with the chancel. He had liberty to go from his ceil — hence the door on the north side. There is a similar cell connected with Warmington Church.
The so-called '^ altar" in the chapel is a semi-octagonal table of
102
CAMBRIAN ARCH^OLOGICAL ASSOClAtlON
wood, panelled od the sides in seven diTisione, 5 (t. 2 ins. long, 3 fl. bish, projecting 2 fl. from the wall.
Ur. Blozaoi knew of only one other example of a wooden altar, namely, that forming (.be wooden sill of a concealed ohapel in the
Q&Q-cwD, »T Dog-fork, LUneili&a Church.
roof of Comptoii Wjniiito Hoase, where recusnnta were aconetonied to attend. This "altar" Sir Stephen Glynne believed erroneonaly to be a repository for vestments. Another and far more likely eaggeation is, that it is tbe base of a shrine. One uf the seven panels has been removed. The snporstition was that any person getting inside the shrine, and turning roniid within it before
ANGLKSi:Y MBETli^G. — ftBPORt 103
•
getUnft out, woald be cared of any disease the person might have. The pavement in front of the '* shrine" is arranged in a peculiar manner, and it is stated that the sick person who came to praj for recovery was laid on this, while prayers were offered up in his behalf.
Two openings, jnst above the pavement (the larger one said to have been 18 ins. by 8 ins.), ran right throogh the wall into the open air.
Against the northern doorway is a Gtifl-own, or Dog-fork, some- what ponderous, opening by a set of pivots, and extending after the fashion of a '* lazytongs," whereby the clerk or warden might throw forward a pair of pinching arms, and catch the intruding dog of some careless parishioner and eject the animal.^ Near this lay an oaken chest formed of a solid tree, " a poor-box," with three locks, the date 1667 worked on it in nails.
At the west end of the nave stands a bold square tower of three stages, with square spire in two stages, of a design not usual in Anglesey, but bearing a strong resemblance to the.towers at Penmon and Ynys Seiriol. It opens into the nave under a Norman arch of the twelfth century, and is not approachable except by this entrance, as is the case with Llanfeohell and Llanerchymedd Church towers. The tower-lights are of round-arched Norman design. At a late date the stonework of the tower and spire has been weather-slated.
On each of the buttresses are crossed circles incised, marking so many stations around the church. One of these has the date " An'o D'ni MCCCCLXX."
An invitation to tea at Abereilian, which was given by Alderman Lewis Hughes, was gratefully accepted, and, as a 6nale, the whole company, with the host and hostess in the centre of the group, were duly photographed. Cordial thanks were offered on behalf of the Association for their entertainment by Professor Anwyl and Mr. Edward Owen, thus bringing to a close a most successful and enjoy- able series of excursions. The departure from Amlwch was by the last train, ?.40, instead of 5.30, as arranged.
The Annual Business Meeting of the Association was held at the County Schools, Llangefni, on Friday evening at 9 p.m. The chair was taken by Archdeacon Thomas, Chairman of Committee, most of the members who had taken part in the excursions attending.
The Report of the Committee, as given below, including that of the Editorial SubCommittee,and the Treasurer's Statement, was accepted unanimously, and the long list of members enrolled for North and South Wales was approved for election.
^ Similar dog* tongs are preserved at Clynnog, Llanynys (Denbighshire), Bangor Cathedral, and GyfiyUiog. Very different treatment was meted out at Northorpe, a small village near Gainsborough. In the church is a pew known as the " Hall dog-pew," in which the family from the hall used to ^ut up the dogs which followed them to church. The service was frequently interrupted by fights between the dogs, whi«h resulted in some of the dogs being turned out before the service could be resumed.
104 CAMBRIAN ARGHJBOLOGIGAL ABSOCtATtOK
Report of the Editorial Committee.
It is with tbe deepest regret that we have to record the death of the Editor of the Archoeologia Cambrefuis, Mr. J. Bomillj Allen, F.S.A. He was appointed to the editorship in 1888, and contri- buted largely by his able papers, especially those on Celtic Art, to the high repute which our Journal has obtained in the archeaologioal world. We have been in correspondence with his executrix about papers and property (official volumes of the Archoeologia CambreTuis, etc.) belonging to the Association.
By the rule of the Association the Editorial Sub-Committee should consist of at least three members. By the death of the Rev Chancellor Silvan Evans it has been reduced to three, consisting at present of Sir John Rhys, Canon Trevor Owen, and, ex-officio, the Chairman of Committee. We suggest the appointment of Professor Anwyl, M.A., of the University College of Wales, Aberystwith, to fill the vacancy caused by Chancellor Silvan Evans's death.
The question of a successor to the late Mr. Romilly Allen as Editor of the Archceologia Cambrensis has been very carefully con« sidered by us, and wo beg to recommend Canon Rupert Morris for the vacant post. Canon Morris is one of the senior members of the Association, having been elected in 1874, and is now a V.-P. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiqaaries, our delegate to the Congress of Arohaaological Societies, and a member of the Council of that Congress. For many years he has assisted the late Editor in compiling the index of the Journal. We may mention among his special qualifications for the editorship that he edited for several yeara the Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society. He is a competent classical scholar, and he has written A History of Chester in Plantagenet and Tudoi' Times (the dedication of which His Majesty King Edward, when Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, was pleased to accept), as well as A History of the Diocese of Chester for the S.P.C.K. Series of Diocesan Histories.
Annual Report of the Committee, 1907.
Your Committee meet this year under circumstances happily exceptional, for they have to deplore the death of their able editor, a distinguished authority on Celtic and Early Christian Art, and they have not the benefit of his assistance in preparing this Report.
The articles published in the Journal from July, 1906, to July, 1907, include the following : —
Prehistoric Period.
" HendreV Oelli, a Buriod Prehistoric Town in the Rhondda Valley." By the Rev. John Griffith.
• Tre*r Ceiri," By Professor Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S.
" Report on the Excavations carried out at Tre'r Ceiri in 1906." By Harold Hugheti, A.R.LB. A.
ANGLBSBY llEiETINCi. — ftin^ottt 105
Romano 'British Period,
" Epigraphic Notes." By Professor John Rhys, M.A., LL.D. '' Report on the ExcavatioDs at Coelbren." By Colonel W. LI. Morgan, K.E. " Roman Remains at Cwmbrwyii, Carmarthenshire." By John Ward, F.S. A. " Geological Notes on Roman Remains at Cwmbrwyn." By T. C. Cantell, B.Sc., London.
'' The Capel Mair Stone." By Professor John Rhys, M.A., D.Litt.
Mediceval and Later Periods.
'* Notes on Eglwys Cymmyn, Pare y Cerrig Sanctaidd, and Llandawke." By G. G. T. Treherne.
" Llansaint." By the Rev. G. Eyre Evans.
** Carmarthen in Early Norman Times." By Professor J. S. Lloyd. " Town of Holt in County Denbigh." By Alfred Neobard Palmer. ** The Town of Holt : Its Castle, Church, Franchise, and Pemesne." By Alfred Neobard Palmer.
** Treflys Church, Carnarvonshire," and
" Painted Panels at Penmachno Church. " By Harold Hughes. '* St. Peter's, Carmarthen." By T. E. Brigstocke.
" Note on the Ancient Cope belonging to St. Martinis Church, Laughame." By G. G. T. Treherne.
" Note on the East Wmdow of the Church of All Saints, Gresford." By the Rev. E. A. Fidhboume, M.A.
''Cardiganshire 1 ts Plate, Records, and Registers. " By the Rev] George Eyre Evans.
Reviews of Books.
"Owen's Pembrokeshire.". Part III.
" Castell Morgraig." By John Ward, F.S. A., and T. W. Rodger.
" The Old Churches of Arllechwedd. " By Herbert North, B. A.
'* The Church Plate of the Diocese of Bangor." By E. Alfred Jones.
" LeJaud's Itinerary in Wales." Arranged and edited by Lucy Toulmin Smith.
*' Edward II in Glamorgan." By the Rev. John Griffith.
Of other books issued by members of the Association the Com- mittee draw attention to Part I of the new edition of the Chairman's nniqne and monnmental History of the Diocese of St. Asaph.
In the interval since the Carmarthen Meeting, while death has remoyed from the roll of onr patrons the strong and just character of Lord Penrhyn, oar Pre^dent at the Carnarvon Meeting in 1894, it has spared oar oldest member to complete his centary — the Kev. Hagh Prichard of Dinam, one of oar Vice-Presidents— -whom we heartily congratulate on the cimtinuancQ of bis health,^ and on the Royal recognition of His ever courteous Majesty the King. To Lord Kenyon, President of the University College of North Wales, one of our patrons, a Royal acknowledgment of his services, in connection with the stone-laying of the new University College buildings, has been given ; but that which appeals most directly to us as a learned Society is the compliment paid to Celtic Literature and Welsh learning in the person of our Vice-President, Sir John Rhys.
We have noted, too, with mach pleasure the high praise given to our former Hon. Solicitor, Mr. James Davies of Hereford, on retiring,
^ Hr. Prichard died on 13th October, 1907, Ih. his lOlst year.
106 caMbrIan AtLcnMoijyotCAt ASSOctAtioN
after fifty-two years' service, from the office of Town Clerk of Hereford.
The following Members of Committee retire by rotation — Mr. J.
Ward and Mrs. T. Allen. The Committee recommend their re- election, and the election of the Rey. Evan Evans vice Mr. Richard Williams, and Mr. D. Llenfer Thomas vice Mr. Banks, who wishes to retire.
The following members have been enrolled aud await the con- firmation of this meeting : —
English and Forbign. Jlecommended by
Jones, J. Riohftrd, Esq., 76, Canfield Qardens,
Hampstead* N. . . . L. J. Pnchard, Esq.
Masterman, J. Story, Esq., St. Margaret's,
Dorking . . • ' , Canon Trevor Owen
Morgan, Rev. D. W., 30, Kimberley Street
Prince's Park, Liverpool . . Rev. 0. Eyre Evans.
Venmore, James, Esq., Parkside, Anfield Road,
Liverpool • . . • J. H. Davies, Esq.
Wynne, C. M. E., Esq., 67, Torrington Square,
W.C. .... Canon Trevor Owen.
NoBTH Wales. Angle»ey.
Paget, Lady Alexander, Plasnewydd, Llanfair P.O. Canon Trevor Owen.
Evans, S. J., Esq., M.A., County School, Llan- gefni .... Canon Trevor Owen.
Miss Massey, Comeley, Beaumaris < . . J. E. Qriffith, Esq
Miss Gwendoline Massey, Comeley, Beaumaris . J. E. Griffith, Esq.
Evans, Rev. R., Llanidaoi Vicarage, Llanfair P.O. J. E. Griffith, Esq.
Davies, Rev. Canon, Gkerwen Vicarage Canon Rupert Morns.
Davies, Rev. John, Penmon, Beaumaris . Canon Trevor Owen,
Thomas, Fleet-Surgeon J. Lloyd, R.N. , Denmor,
Penmon, Beaumaris . . L. J. Prichard, Esq.
Williams, Rev. John, Llwyn Idris. Llanfair P.G. J. H. Davies, Eq.
Glegg, Mrs., Plas Llanfair P.G. . . Mrs. Richardson.
Camarvofuhirc.
Watkin Davies, Rev. F. P., The Vicarage. Llan-
fairfechan . . . • T. E. Morris, Esq.
Lewis, Rev. J. P., The Rectory, Llanystumdwy . Archdeacon Thomas.
Roberts, Rev. H. R., Llanengan Rectory, Pwllheli Archdeacon Thomas.
Williams, Mrs. Ignatius, Hendregadredd, Pwllheli C. £. Breese, Esq.
Evans, iiev. A. 0., Bangor • . Harold H. Hughes. Esq.
Daviea, Rev, J. L., Bryngroes Vicarage, Pwllheli Harold H. Hughes, Esq.
Pryce, A. Ivor, Esq., Bangor . . Harold H. Hughes, £Isq.
Parry, W. H., Esq., Pabo Isaf, Conway . Canon Trevor Owen.
Guest, Miss, Llandudno . . Canon Trevor Owen.
Williams, Aneurin, Esq., Carnarvon . . Rev. G. Eyre Evans.
Denbighshire.
Dundonald, The Countess of, Gwrych Castle,
Abergele ....
Hope, Rev. Evan, St. Mary's Church, Wrexham Canon Trevor Owen.
Flintshire,
Meredith, AV. F., Esq., St. Mary's* College, Holy- well .... Rev. Paul Hook. Price, W. Fred., Esq., Fron Haul, Bodfari • Canon Trevor Owen.
m
A1TGL48BY MEETIN(3^.-*REP0Rt 107
Merionethshire.
Kacnair, Mrs. Pennal Towers, Machynlleth Mrs. Johnes.
The Marehea.
Royden, E. B., Esq., filyth Lodge, Bromborough Rev. Q. Eyre Evans.
South Walvs, Glamorffianshire.
Bute, The Moat Noble the Marqnis of . . Rev. C. Chidlow.
Lewis, 3Cr8.,Greenmeadow, Tongwynlas, Cardiff Rev. C. Chidlow. Pughe- Jones, J. E., Esq., 43, Trafalgar Terrace,
Swansea .... Rev. C. Chidlow.
Thomas, Lewis D., Esq., 27, Rope Walk, Neath Rev. C. Chidlow.
Williams, W., Esq., M.D., Penarth . . Rev. C. Chidlow.
Pegge, E L.. Esq., QelliCrynant . . Rev. C. Chidlow.
Cardiganshire.
Lloyd, Professor J. Young, Theological College,
Aberystwyth . . , . Rev. G. Eyre Evans.
Pembrokeshire.
Lloyd, Richard LL, Esq., Pentypark, Clarbeston
Road . • . . Rev. C. Chidlow.
Your Gommitiee reoommend that in fature the covers for binding the volnme should be issaed with the October namber to those members who prefer to have the whole together rather than the quarterly issues of the Journal.
The reprinting of the Volumes for 1855 and 1856 has been again considered by your Committee ; and they have come to the same conclusion as on a former occasion, that it is not practicable.
A vote of condolence with the relatives of the late Mr. J. Romillj Allen was passed. The nomination by the Editorial Committee of Canon Rupert Morris as Editor in succession to Mr. Bomilly Allen was approved, and Monmouth was chosen as tlie place for next year's meeting. An invitation to visit Wiltshire in 1908 was considered bj the members, but it was felt that it was hardly possible for the Association to let such a visit, however agreeable and instructive, take the place of their Annual Meeting.
Grants were made of j£10 towards the excavations at Caerwent, and J&IO to those which are being carried out near Portmadoc under the superintendence of Mr. G. G« Breese.
The usual votes of thanks were passed to the local committee, the many kind hosts, and others who had contributed to the success of the Anglesey gathering, special reference being made to the valuable services rendered by the very able secretaries, Mr. S. J. Evans and Mr. W. Lloyd Owen.
A reception was afterwards held in the adjoining rooms, most hospitably arranged for by Mrs. Nicholls Jones and Mrs. Samuel Evans, some excellent music, including pennillion, being provided.
108 CAMBRIAN AttCHAOLOGtCAt ASSOClAttOM
The programme for 1907 promised ns no stately castles, mined abbeys, or fine ecclesiastical bnil dings. But we bad ample satisfaction in the remarkable strnctnres at Din Lligwy, Bwrdd Arthur, the Roman camp at Caerleb, the many cromlechs and Meini hiriou, especially that characteristic cromlech at Biyn Celli Ddn, which afforded opportunity for valuable statements from such eminent authorities as Professor Sayce and Sir Henry Howorth. Other special 'features were the fonts of early date and beautiful design, some elegant chalices, the carved movable pulpit, elaborate effigies, though weather prevented us from seeing the famous one of St. lestyn, and the grand tomb at Penmyuydd.
The churches on our list, eighteen or twenty in number, were, with three or four exceptions, very rude and simple in form, originally small oblong edifices from 30 ft to 60 ft. in length, low in height, with thick walls, a simple bell-gable, most of them *' restored" with more or less judgment and success.
It may be as well here to mention the method adopted by those in charge of the excursions. It was thought advisable that a summary should be given of what had been written on the objects visited which could be supplemented, corrected, or veri6ed by those possessing local knowledge, and able to add information brought up to date.
A programme, with useful references to articles in Arch, Camb, was provided for the Llaugefni Meeting. But comparatively few members possess a complete set of Ar^i. Camh*, or have the time and industry to search out and master the contents of those papers. A general desire was expressed for a programme with fuller details, which would enable them all to study more conveniently the objects of archfisological interest they had come to see. The expense of preparing such a programme has been felt as an obstacle. But this difficulty might be met by a small charge being made for it, to be included in the price of the excui*sion tickets.
Some remark should be made on the importance of applying in good time for these tickets. The Meeting of 1907 was attended by an unusually large number of members, and one purpose of these annual gatherings, viz., to stir up local interest, was certainly attained, as was evident from the considerable influx of non- members, many of whom gave notice of joining <ifter the appointed date for such notice. This very success was in itself a. difficulty. The numbers were at times somewhat unwieldy, and but for the ready tact and organising power of the hard- worked local secretaries, there might have been many hitches and consequent disappoint- ment. Carriages had to be called in from distant quartere, and the kind hosts who so hospitably entertained us had, of course, a certain limit to their facilities and means of entertainment
The number of persons to be moved from one place to another made the programme, originally too full, difficult to carry out in its entirety, No allowance was possible for contingencies. A very little delay at one or other point would upset arrangements, and, as
ANGLESEY MEETING. — REPORT 109
actually happened, some of the places marked out for as had to he omitted. The unfortanate delay at Cemmaes shows that it is a wise policy to have no alteniativo roate, and to allow no straggling.
There were fewer Evening Meetings than nsnal, owing to the long distances covered, and the necessities of the railway time-tahle. A short lecture in the evening, with lantern slides, would be very acceptable, and helpful to members as well as to non-members.
The Annual Meeting for Business should never be later than Thursday: if possible, it might be held, with great advantage, on Wednesday. Opportunity should be given to the members for full discussion on matters of interest connected with the well-being of the Association. This could be arranged to follow after the necessary routine business for the year has been concluded.
Our hearty thanks are due to Mr. Harold Hughes for his valuable assistance in revising the architectural details of the churches visited, and supplying additional information; to Dr. Norman for his excellent photographs; to Rev. E. Evans, Mr. Neil Baynes, and others for most useful help readily afforded.
The Editor, in this the first number issued since he assumed office and the first for which he is responsible, t«kes the opportunity of expressing his grateful sense of the high honour conferred upon him by his fellow-members in appointing him to the Editorship of Arehasologia CambrensU,
He cannot lay claim to the very special knowledge and artistic skill placed always so freely and courteously at the service of the Association by his talented predecessor.
But it will be his aim, with the kind and generoas assistance of the members, to maintain the well-deserved reputation o£ Archceoloffia Cambrensis to which the late Mr. Romilly Allen's own able papers and untiring zeal contributed so largely.
He would urge upon Local Secretaries to be especially vigilant in their own districts, and to send in to him, promptly, information of interest to the members, cuttings from local papers, etc. There is no need, in the first instance, of elaborate articles. They can follow later. But what is needed is accurate and reliable information (however roughly put together) sent in with all promptitude.
He may, perhaps, be permitted to commend to members a quo- tation from a sympathetic notice in the WeUhmatij illustrating Mr. Romilly Allen's genial personality and earnestness of character; " Why," he asks in a letter, " have you been keeping your discovery of a new inscribed stone dark P Why make a mystery about the matter at all ? My chief anxiety is to have new discoveries published in the Arck: Camb. at the earliest possible date, so that they may be of use to scientific archaaologists."
110
laetotetost anH Bottcest of Soolu!.
Ohurch Book of St. Mart the Yibgin, Tbnbt. By Edward Laws, F.S.A., and Emily Hewlbtt Edwabds. Pp. 292. Tenby : John Leach.
This Church Book of Tenby is a work well conceived and admirably carried oat. The authors had the advantage, which they duly acknowledge, of assistance from a large number of very capable helpers, and they tell a most interesting story, based to a consider- able extent upon original documents hitherto overlooked, which their persevering energy and research have turned into useful material.
They trace out the connection of the Church with the Benedictine Abbey of St. Martin de Seez in Normandy, and the disputes resulting from it, carried on through long centuries, during which the name of the little Welsh town was bandied about between Popes, Bishops, Kings, and flarls Palatine. Then follows the transfer to the Abbey of St. Albans; the passing of the advowson to the riotous and profligate nuns of De la Prd ; and later to William G Wynne, " parson of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey," London. Tenby Church enjoys the distinction of having had for its Rectors the famous Giraldus Cambrensis, as well as four Royal Rectors — King Edward VI, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and, most probably, King James I.
In preparation for his " History of the Fabric," Mr. Laws, together with careful and diligent study, has enjoyed the very exceptional privilege of being allowed to strip off plaster and open out details, hitherto concealed, and thereby he has been enabled to settle certain difficult problems in the architectural history of the church. Among the results thus obtained was the discovery of the rood stair with an interesting mural painting of the Crucifixion : seven windows have been reopened, and several faulty traditions corrected.
He has searched, not without success, for traces of the Welsh- Norman Church which was destroyed by Maelgwn ap Rhys in 1186, and of its Early-English successor, and he complains with good reason of the deplorable practice of architects to sweep away details constructed or inserted by their predecessors.
An interesting chapter of the book is the series of extracts from the Wardens' Accounts (with their curious spelling), in which are preserved disused or provincial terms, such as *^ tucker" (weaver), **freething plants"; "maune" (maund or basket); '* sinte-bills" or '' snite-bUls."
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS 1 1 1
The "Chronicle of Events" records a visit (1648^ from " Liftennant Generall Cromwell," upon whom on that occasion the Mayor ex- pended 4«. for a gallon of wine sent him. In 1657, George Fox, the Quaker, visited Tenby, and was well received and hospitably enter- tained. In 1696, August 28, the Mayor " payd 4«. for 2 bottells of wine to present ye Biship," and the next day he paid " 10$. 6d, for wine and bear, tobacko and pipes to treat the Bishop."
Under the date 1833 is a useful list of houses and land recorded as church property.
As the book is dedicated " To the Memory of Generations who, through eight centuries, have worshipped God in Tenby Church," several pages are devoted to a list of mural tablets and sepulchral slabs, and the transcription of epitaphs, which*, inasmuch as they relate to persons who have resorted thither from all parts of the kingdom, will have an interest for a very wide circle.
Some of these inscription?, where Latin is employed, have suffered somewhat at the hands of either the mason or the printer. Doubtless the blemish will be removed in the second edition. Considerable value is added to the volume by the excellent illustrations furnished by Miss Edwards, who combines with a deft and practised hand the true antiquarian spirit which will not sacrifice for prettiness precise accuracy in detail. Besides several effigies, a large number of the carved bosses in the fine roof are reproduced, amongst them a quaint representation of a goose whispering to a man gagged, with the ears of an ass ; an hypocrite with double-faced head ; the Evangelists, four heads, with interlaced moustaches, suggesting the idea of the one story issuing from four distinct mouths. An example of Miss Edwards' skilful drawing is given here, an effigy representing John White, Mayor of Tenby, circa 1490 .
A copious index of names and subjects is appended, and scattered through the pages are many useful notes with valuable information alike for antiquarian and non-antiquarian. We hope to return to this later.
The authors deserve our heartiest thanks for this important and ably - conceived contribution to County History, which has an enduring value, extending far beyond the town and county to which it primarily belongs, while high praise should also be awarded to the printer and publisher for his satisfactory share in the mechanical production of the work.
A Treatise on th£ Law concerkikq Names and Changes of Name. By Abthur Chableb Fox-Davies and P. W. P. Cablton-Bbitton, F.S.A. Pp. 118. London : Elliot Stock.
The purpose of this book is chiefly legal and not archaeological. It consists of a series of articles, not arranged in chapters, in which the writers set forth the conditions under which it is possible for a man to change his surname. The desire to make such a change is
112 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS
stated to be "ever recurring," and therefore the accuracy and validity of the diflfering methods of change are matters of con- siderable importance. These methods are three : by Royal Licence, by Act of Parliament, and by Deed Poll. The procedure according to each of these methods is lucidly explained and illustrated by actual cases in the past. The last section deals with the names of bastards, from which we learn that there is nothing in law, nor is there any custom enforceable in law, which requires a bastard child to take its mother^a surname.
The earlier sections contain matter of archaeological and indeed of general interest. They deal with front-names (commonly termed Christian names) and surnames.
As to the first point, it is laid down positively that there is no way known to the law by which a man or a woman can change a name which has been given in baptism ; that, whilst it is required by law that the fact of a birth must be registered, it is perfectly possible for a child to be registered without a nam a
The section treating of surnames contains much interesting matter. The authors reject the derivation of surname from a corrupted form of ^ir^name, but they make no pronouncement on the question whether the "«itr" meant "over and above," t.c, additional, or, as Du Cange suggests, above the line in which the Christian name is written. The origin of surnames they assign to the period of the Norman Invasion. These additional names belong only to the upper class, being either territorial or official designa- tions, patronymics, sobriquet or nicknames. Besides these terri- torial names, which properly indicated descent from the lords of the lands named, there were names denoting the place of origin, merely indicating the former residence of those who had come as strangers into a different locality. Then for the plebeian class, there came into use the names of occupations. Thus, in records of the reign of the Edwards and Richard II, we have the manufacturers of various articles of clothing, those engaged in the furnishing of arms and armour and domestic utensils (the cooper, spurrier, smitli, saddler, slater) ; those who supplied provisions, such as the baxter or baker, spicer, barber, roper, etc.
In Wales it is stated that hereditary surnames were not in use until the time of Henry YIII, a succession of aps, even to the seventh generation, being given. The authors make merry over the lines describing Welsh cheese as
*' Adam's own cousin-german by its birth, Ap-Curds-ap-Milk-ap-Cow-ap-Orass-ap-Earth."
They omit to mention that it was Bishop Roland Lee, Lord Presi- dent of the Marches, who cut short the wearisome recital of the "aps'* in a Welsh pedigree, by directing that suitors should be con- tented with the name of one of their progenitors. The use of " Mac" in Scotland is dealt with in the amusing story recited of the Macin-
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS 113
tosh of Macintosh, in altercation with a cabman about a fare. Cabbj, with no sense of reverence for the great man, did not care who he was talking to : '^ Do you think I care whether you 're the blessed old umbrella as well ! Hand out that tanner."
The section about the change of surnames contains some curious information. The case is quoted of the great-great-grandfather of the Protector, Richard Williams, changing his name to Cromwell in compliance with the wish of Henry VIlI, and the celebrated case of '* Jones V. Herbert of Clytha," which was argued at length in 1861 in the House of Commons.
We congratulate Messrs. Fox-Davies and Carlyon-Britton on their lucid and interesting treatment of a subject which has not hitherto received the attention merited by its importance. Several misprints in Latin, pp. 58 and 62, nefn) oorrection.
SHORT NOTICES.
We have received " A Short Account of the Church of Ishow" in Breconshire, compiled by Mr. Baker-Gabb, incorporating, amongst other materials, the article on " Partrishow Church " in Arch. Camb., 1904, with Mr. Worthington Smith's admirable drawings of rood- screen, stone altar, and inscribed font. This is supplemented by some additional information about the neighbourhood and pic- turesque photographs.
« Carmarthen" is now included (No. 30) in the marvellously cheap series of Borough Guides. The descriptive letterpress, with a large amount of information, conveniently arranged, edited by one of our members, Rev. G. E. Evans, is accompanied by a map and fourteen illustrations. That of Sir Rhys ap Thomas's tomb is unfortunate in showing more railing than effigy.
Part IX of the reprint from the Antiquaries column in the WeUhmcm has, amongst others , interesting articles on *' Carmarthen Bulwarks," by Colonel Morgan, and " Carmarthen Manor Houses," by Mr. Francis Green.
The continuation of the list of Carmarthen Burgesses includes the names of Henry, Duke of Beaufort, 1686 ; Zachary Bevan, father- in-law of " Madam" Bevan ; Sir Richard Steele and his father-in-law, Jonathan Scurlock. Mr. T. £. Brig^tocke's article on " St. Peter's, Carmarthen," is reprinted from Arch, Camh,, without correction of the error in the copy of the inscription on the sepulchral slab, DB l'almp, where the reading should evidently be PE l'almb. 8t9 bu., vol. vm. 8
114
9lvct)aeologtcal Botes ann (Bntviti.
Brokze Implements from the Shores of Milfobd Haybn. — These were foand by Dr. Style of Pembroke and Mr. E. Dixon of the Geological Sarvej in the floor of a rock shelter, which forms the entrance to a care in the limestone cliff overlooking Milford Haven, about half a mile to the westward of Pembroke Castle.
In the red day or cave earth covering the floor of the cavern teeth and bones were discovered, representing mammoth (Elephas primigeniuB)^ brown bear {Ursu% arctoe), red deer {Cermu elephcis), hyesua {Hyaena spelcBa)^ and wolf {Cani$ apeloeiu). In the defcritas on the snrface of the cave earth were flint flakes, badger, fox, sheep or goat, pig, and horse bones ; also some stones shaped by natnre, which had obviously been nsed by man as mailers or poanders, and fragments of pottery, some of which may possibly have been of the Bronze Ag^. With these were the remains of at least two haman beings, as the upper jaw of an infant and part of an adult cranium proved.
In fact the collection was typical, and might have been found in any limestone cave in Pembrokeshire.
Outside, in the mouth of the cave lying among the breccia, were flint chips, and in the detritus on the snrface a dolichocephalic cranium. This was about 2 ft. underground. At the same level some 16 fb. nearer the entrance wore the implements figured, so that there is absolutely no evidence connectins^ these with the remaining contents of the cave ; but on the other hand a bronze palstave was found by Colonel Jervis many years ago in Hoyles Mouth Cave near Tenby, about ten miles to the eastward.
The implements were all close together, and the ring was found passing through the hole in the saw, in which condition I exhibited it to the Society of Antiquaries last June ; since then, most unfor- tunately, it has been broken, as now shown in the photograph.
So on one end of the saw was a bronze ring, the other extremity being rolled and a tube left, through which a thong might have been threaded to act as a loop and match the ring.
There is no indication of any handle having been fixed to the tool. Bronze saws are rare, and if this little implement was used by two persons as a cross out, it appears to be a very unusual form.
The chisel has no stop to prevent the handle from splitting. On one side of the stock, running from edge to edge, are two distinct lines, made apparently when the tool was cast, and on the other side are a series of scratches on either edge. The third fragment probably formed part of a palstave.
All the tools are bright and brassy, showing that the amal^
AftOttiSOtOGiOAt irotES AKD QtSRiCS
115
Qsed with the tin was some form of zinc, probably calamine. Bronze implements fonndin West Wales are nsnallj dark in colour,
«•* J-
••ii
s
if
s ^
a 8
o
covered with patina, and composed of copper and tin, so perhaps
these tools were not of local manufactare.
Edward Laws.
rf •
Il6 AROH^oioaicAL Kotiis AKb QttEttie^
A DlSCOYBBY OF ROHAN CoiNS OK THE LiTTLB OrMS'S HbAD.—
On the 10 th January 'last son^e workmen who were excavating soil and rubble on the Little Orme's Head, near Llandudno, unearthed a quantity of Roman coins. The coins lay at a depth of about 2^ ft. below the surface, which was composed of accumulated detritus from the high cliffs above. The tenant of the land took possession of them, to the number of 452. The time of the dis- covery was late upon a dark winter afternoon, and no |iarticular notice seems to have been taken of the probably broken receptacle. Some corroded pieces of thin bronze plate, with rivets through them hammered down on both sides, were, however, subsequently picked up, and others seen have disappeared. All the coins were, more- over, covered with a black earthy matter, distinct from the neigh- bouring soil. These circumstances point to the coins having been enclosed in some sort of metal or wood and metal box. Further, a long strip of thin copper, an inch wide, was folded round four " first brass '' coins of earlier date than the rest of the hoard. The centre of one of these and a portion of the strip show signs of having been once soldered, perhaps together.
The rubble mentioned above was being excavated for the con- struction of the new Mostyn Broadway in Llandudno. Two cart- loads went on there directly after the discovery, and their contents were tipped in the dusk upon the site of the present footpath on the north-east side of the road, midway between the church and the theatre. Next morning's light revealed certain coins half buried in the freshly-deposited rubble here. The news spread, and soon an eager crowd of searchers were busy scratching out specimens. In the course of the day a total of at least IjDO were found, though it is impossible to ascertain their exact number ; possibly some still lie buried in the new roadway. This brings up the ascertained number of coins in the discovery to about 550.
The site of the " find " was on the left-hand side of the road leading from Llandudno past Craigside Hydro to Golwyn Bay, opposite to the stable entrance of Simdda Hir, on Mrs. Holden's property. The exact spot was in the bank, 12 yds. back from the road, entering the gate just east of the ruins of the old farm buildings. This bank is at the foot of the Rhiwledyn cliiis, which tower 150 ft. above it on the north. The road is the modern representative of a very ancient one, which led from west to east over the pass between the Little Orme on the north and Mynydd Fentre on the south. It would afford direct means of communication between the im- portant Dinas on the Great Orme and that on Bryn Euryn.
The coins, with the exception of the four previously referred to, were all of the description known as " third brass." Some of them were at first supposed by the finders to be of gold and silver, and the police, acting for the Treasury, accordingly took possession of the bulk of them ; finding subsequently that they were not " treasure trove,'* they returned them to their owners. Very un-
laciLfflOLoaicAL notes ANb QtrKRiies Hf
fortunately for numismatics, many of the coins, especially those picked up in the Mostyn Broadway, were rapidly dispersed among visitors and others. The writer has now 350 of them in his collec- tion, and has succeeded in tracing and inspecting about 100 more. Nearly 97 per cent, prove to be money of the Emperor Carausius, the usurper in Britain who threw off the Roman yoke (under Diocletian and Maximianus) between 287 and 293 a.d. ; the re- mainder are of earlier Emperora
This makes the *'find'' a very interesting one. For although coins of Carausius are not infrequently met with in small numbers mixed with others, more especially in the South-west and West of England, only two large "finds" have previously been recorded. The first in importance was the discovery of 545 examples of Carausius in the great hoard of 29,802 Roman coins unearthed at Woolmer, in Hants, in 1873. The second was a pocket of 210 excavated near Rouen iu 1846.
The coins are proving interesting also from their variety. The number of types struck by Carausius during his brief reign is well known, as also is the fact that many of these types occur in numerous varieties. Examples from about 1100 different dies have now been catalogued. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the present '* find " there appear to be many types, and of these types but few struck from the same die. The writer hopes to contribute a detailed account of the coins to the British Numismatic Society in due course.
The great Roman road from Deva to Segontium vid Kanovium (at Caerhun on the Conway) ran inland some ten miles away from the Little Orme. Nevertheless, the old pass in which the coins were found would seem to have been something of a thoroughfare in Roman times, and especially at the close of the third and com- mencement of the fourth centuries.
For at its east end, near old Fenrhyn, about half a mile away from the recent discovery, another important hoard of 5000 Roman coins, contained in an earthenware jar, was unearthed about thirty years ago. These were apparently deposited not more than forty years after the Carausius coins, for they consist of the issues of Maximianus, Maximinus, Licinius, and Constantinus Maximus, with one or two of earlier dates.
Like many of the coiDs of the recent Carausius *' find/' a very large number of these pieces were minted in London, while others originated in various Gaulish cities. A notable feature is the magnificent condition of many of the coins, some of which can hardly have been in circulation.
From their composition, these two important collections of coins would seem to represent intercepted consignments of money from headquarters rather than the accumulated hoardings of private persons.
Very many coins of the Romans have in past years been found in association with the old copper mines on the Great Orme, but
11^ AnOtMOtOOiOAL N0TB8 AND QtflStttfiiS
unfortunately they have been scattered, without any particulars ci them being preserved. It may be worth mention, however, that the small << find " of seventeen coins made at the mouth of a cave on the Great Orme in 1888 (recorded in ArcJt. Camb., 5th 8er., vol. v, p. 370) included thirteen coins of Carausius of similar types to some of those recently unearthed. We know that the Romans exploited North Wales chiefly for the sake of its mineral wealth. It is possible, therefore, that the two parcels of coins found in the pass over the Little Orme were consignments intended for payment of native workers in the mines in the Great Orme about the years 292 and 330 a.d. respectively.
WiLLOUGHBY GaRDNSB.
DiscovBBY OP Copper Cakrs in South Carnarvonshire. — Mr. C. E. Breese, Local Secretary for Carnarvonshire, reports: "On Thursday, October 31, a labourer, walking along the seashore under the clilSs of Glanllynan Farm, found half hidden in the shingle, and within three or four inches of each other, two round cakes or discs of metal, which proved on careful inspection to be solid copper.
Di$c No. 1, weighing 4ii lbs., measures 13 ins. in diameter and 2^ ins thick. It has impressed on it three stamps in Roman characters, which he reads ivli (repeated) and lgvs.
Disc No. 2, weighing 36 lbs., is 12 ins. in diameter, and like the other is 2^ ins. thick. It has only one stamp, and is more worn than No. 1.
The spot where the cakes were found is a short distance from the circular mound known as Tomen Fawr, on Glanllynan Farm.
Between Criccieth and Afonwen the sea has been steadily en- croaching upon the land for many years, and in consequence the clijQTs at the spot where the discs were found are continually giving way, large masses of heavy clay, intermingled with gravel, having evidently fallen quite recently. The cliff varies in height from 25 ft. to 35 ft"
Under Mr. Breese's direction photographs have been taken of the cakes, which are in careful custody, and these will be published with full particulars in the next number of Arch. Camb.
In December, 1906, a cake of copper, similar to the above (diameter, 11 ins.) was found about three miles from Capel Curig, near Camedd Llewelyn^ on or near the surface of grazing land. The cake tapers below, and in the middle on the top surface, which is rough, are four stamps in Roman letters — T vvxii | OFI IP | I lAGV I and another consisting of two grooves centre cut. This cake was purchased in 1907 by the authorities of the British Museum.
In 1906 they purchased part of a much larger cake which was found at Conway, and had in the centre the letters mf or me. Mr.
AROH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES 119
Gowland, F.S. A., in his artiole on " The Early Metallurgy of Copper, Tin, and Iron," mentions another cake, now in the British Museum, which was found with two others at Amlwch, diameter ll| ins., weighing 26 lbs. 12 ozs. It has a circular stamp, bearing the letters iyls. He also refers to the cake described by Pennant, and now at Mostyn Hall. This was found near the ancient Oonovium. The lettering is socio rom^, and across is impressed obliquely in smaller letters natsol.
Pentrabth : Barrow Excavated. — The Rev. E. Evans, Rector of Llansadwm, writes, September 30 : ** We made a very important discovery last week in this neighbourhood. I suspected many years ago that a mound in the Parish of Pentraeth was a barrow, and when I found that the new railway to Red Wharf Bay went through it I asked the rector of the parish (Rev. R. P. Howell) to let me know as soon as the navvies came to it. Last Tuesday (Septem- ber 24) I had a letter to say they had come to the mound, so I went there at once. I was there at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and watched the workmen carefully all day. Several bones were found, and portions of four skulls. At 5.20 on Friday, a cinerary urn was found, which unfortunately fell to pieces as soon as the workmen handled it. The workmen were stopped on Friday morning and removed to another part of the work. The steam navvy is now ready to attack the mound.''
The Rector of Pentraeth asked permission from the contractor to be allowed, with Mr. Evans, to investigate the mound. This was very kindly granted, and the result of the excavation, carried on under careful supervision, is as follows: In addition to the cinerary urn, which contained human bones, and pieces of other urns, there were (1) a complete skeleton, doubled up and facing east ; (2) at the head a drinking-vessel, and (3) by the side a bronze dagger and a mantle button ; (4) a second skeleton, lying lengthways with feet to the west ; (6) a food vessel and two cinerary urns.
The barrow is on the north- west of Pentraeth village, on a farm called Merddyn Gwyn, and is composed of an immense number of very large stones. A detailed account, with notes and sketches by Mr. Harold Hughes, who assisted in the investigation of the barrow, will appear in the April number of the Journal.
Three cinerary urns have been found by a farmer in ploughing the tumuli at Ty'n y pwll (see ante, p. 92). They were near each other and within 6 ins. of the surface.
The Welshman of November 29, 1907, reports the discovery of an early inscribed stone, turned up by the plough in a field called Cae Capel, on the farm of Maesnonni, in the Parish of Llanllwni. The stone, which is in a good state of preservation, measures 3 ft. 3 ins. by 9 ins. We hope to receive shortly further particulars from Qur l/ocal Secretary.
120 ARGH^OLOaiGAL NOTES AND QUERIES
MoRRUsiAiD Memorial Fund. To the Editor of the ^^ ArchcBologia Cambrensia."
Sir, — I venture to call the attention of members of the Cambrian Archaeological Society to a Fund which has recently been started in order to enable a committee, of which Lord Boston is President, to erect a memorial to Lewis Morris, the pioneer antiquarian of Wales, and his brothers. It is proposed that the memorial shall be built of stone and erected at Pentreirianell in Anglesey, but the design has not yet been approved by the Committee.
Subscriptions may be forwarded to Mr. R. L. Edwards, Bodafon, Dulas, Amlwch (hon. sec), or to myself,
Yours truly,
120, Warwick Street, London, S.W., E. Neil Baynks,
November 12th, 1907. Hon. Treasurer.
A New Society for Research in Wales. — A Committee has recently been formed, with headquarters at Liverpool, for the purpose of Excavation and Research in Wales and the Marches. The inaugural meeting was held on Wednesday, November 19, in the Town Hall of Liverpool, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Dr. R. Caton, in the chair.
The Chairman, referring to the work which had been done in other countries by archfeological research, moved that ** the time has come when the early history of Wales should receive full and systematic investigation, aided by all the resources of modem historical archaeological science.'' Sir John Rh^s, seconding the motion, sketched the grand field before Welshmen, and emphasised the importance of investigation on proper scientific lines, and the danger of persons who dabbled in archfeology destroying historical monuments.
Names were submitted of members to serve on a General Com- mittee to carry on the work in close co-operation with the University of Wales, the Cambrian Archaeological Association, and district and county archaeological societies. The Organizing Secre- tary is Mr. A. O. Vaughan ("Owen Rhoscomyl*').
SIXTH 8ERIE8.--V0L. VIII, PART II.
APRIL, 1908. THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
By Propessob ANWYL (Continued from p, 28.)
The next phase of Bronze-Age civilization that claims our attention is that of the Bronze-Age dwellings and their industrial adjuncts, and here considerable difficulty arises, inasmuch as the dwellings themselves appear of an extremely primitive type, while the objects found in them are sometimes of a Late-Celtic or Romano-British character. It is difficult to be quite certain that there are in Anglesey any undoubted dwellings of the charac- teristic Bronze-Age period, though there are several dwellings that are associated with the working of bronze, an industry for which Anglesey appears to have been distinguished. The following are the dwellings which may, at any rate in their earlier forms, have been asso- ciated with the Bronze Age : —
1. In the Arch. Camh. for 1855, p. 18, there is a list of Early British remains in Anglesey by the Rev. H. Longueville Jones, in which he mentions, under the name of Cyttiau Gwyddelod, numerous remains of circular habitations from 10 ft. to 20 ft. in diameter, on a low island in the estuary, two miles north-west of Llanfair yn NeubwU Church, and one mile south-west of the Valley Station on the Holyhead railroad.
2. In the same article, Mr. Longueville Jones men-
6th 8BB., VOL. vm. 9
122 THE BARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
tions some early buildings, circular and oblong, with traces of walls, roads, and pavements in the marshy ground near Plasbach, two miles south-west of Cerrig Jeinwen Church. Below the turbary much of the ground is laid or paved with flat stones.
3. In the Arch. Camb, for 1860, p. 365, there is an account of Porthamel, described as an old Celtic town ; also 1867, p. 281. This is doubtless later than the Bronze Age.
4. In the same article there is a reference to Castell Edris, a town of the same type as Porthamel.
5. Ibid, p. 366. — There is an account of Caerleb, the remains of which seem to be largely of the Roman period. It is compared by the writer with Hen Ddin- bych, in the parish of Llanrhaiadr, near Denbigh.
6. Ibid., p. 366. — An account of Tre'r Dryw, also showing the vestiges of another Celtic town.
In the discussion which took place in the evening after these remains were visited, Mr. Clark said that, as to Porthamel, he had no doubt that it was a British town, defended on the side of the sea by works now effaced, and on the opposite side by the natural steep- ness of the ground. There were several circles with raised edges, which reminded him strongly of similar traces left by Indian wigwams. They were beyond doubt the remains of Celtic houses, which are known to have been circular, and probably consisted of wattles and mud. Castell Edris was a Celtic work of a semi- circular form, the chord being the natural cliff* running parallel to the present road. The defences had con- sisted of two mounds, with corresponding fosses. A third line seems also to have existed. It was impossible to ascertain whether the internal space retained any circular foundations, as at Porthamel, but the two works had points of resemblance in their outlines^ and might be both Celtic fortified posts (p. 369). They had also visited some *' cyttiau Gwyddelod," clearly the site of a Celtic settlement, though the defensive works could not be so satisfactorily made out as at Porthamel.
THE EABLT SETTLEBS OF ANOLE8E¥ 123
On p. 369 we are told that Mr. Octavius Morgan said : "As to the cyttiau alluded to by Mr. Clark, he thought that they were probably by no means such uncom- fortable abodes as is geilerally imagined. It was clear that the materials with which they were erected were perishable, whether clay or wattles, or something similar to the cobwalls still in use in parts of Devon- shire, where houses of more than one story are built of such rude materials. The cloghaujis still remaining in Ireland, built of stone, furnished the best type of these early dwellings, a type that seems naturally adopted by all primitive tribes, as for example in the circular wigwams of the American Indians" (p. 370). Professor Simpson of Edinburgh said that one of the most interesting sights they had seen was in his opinion the old British town of Porthamel, with the numerous foundations of circular houses. Dr. Simpson alluded to various late investigations upon these old British cities. They were found to be very common in various localities in England. Such circular beehive- shaped houses as they had found were common also as ruins in different parts of Ireland. In England the mere circular foundations only were for the most part visible, just as at Porthamel and the other collection of them visited in Anglesey. In Ireland they had frequently more than the foundations apparent, some of these collections of circular habitations having their walls standing still several feet high ; but in that country they had not been inhabited apparently for over two centuries at least. In the old city ot Faham in Kerry they existed in great quantities ; but all, or almost all, with the domes or roofs destroyed. On the shores, however, of the Isle of Lewis, in the Scottish Hebrides, they did not only exist, but were still inhabited at certain seasons by a population who are still almost nomadic.
In the Arch. Camb. for 1866, p. 209, there is a paper by Mr. W. Wynn Williams, Menaifron, and Mr. Hugh Prichard, of Dinam, on the excavations at Caerleb, a
9«
124 THE EARLY 8ETTLEBS OF ANGLESEY
place in the parish of Llanidan, Anglesey, f mile from the village of Brynsiencyn, and about 70 yards to the left of a road leading from Barras, on the Menai Straits, into the interior of the island. The owner, Lord Boston, had given his kind permission to the Rev. Hugh Prichard of Dinam to make excavations. The remains discovered in these excavations proved to be Roman.
7. In the Arch. Camb. for 1867, p. 50, in an article by the Rev. W. Wynn Williams, there is an account of early remains at Penrhos Llugwy, on the north-east coast of Anglesey. The remains consist of an irregu- larly-shaped enclosure, surrounded by a wall of an average thickness of 4 ft. Within this enclosure were various chambers, a description of which is given. The general description of this work seems to associate it with the Late-Celtic period, like that of Tre'r Ceiri, but the recent excavations by Lord Boston and Mr. Bayues show it to have been occupied in Roman times.
8. In the Arch. Carnb. for 1867, p. 108, in a paper by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, there is a description of the ancient village of Parciau, annexed to a farm of that name in the parish of Llaneugrad, on the land of Lord Boston. A careful description of the camp is given, and an account of the objects found therein. These included marine shells, as of periwinkles, limpets, and mussels ; also bones and teeth of ruminating animals of the larger and smaller kinds ; charcoal, calcined bones, and an occasional cinder of a hard and metallic character. Fragments of five different kinds of pottery were picked up, viz., white, black, light gray, brick rea, and a specimen of what is usually denomi- nated Samian. . . . Thin pieces of slate were also met with, a bit of glass, smooth on one side, rough on the other ; a chip of flint and two very small pieces of bronze — one a fragment of an ornament, the other a plate, so thin and fragile that it broke with- a touch. The writer further says : *' We also discovered six minute beads ; they were of glass of an azure blue,
THE IfiABLY SKTTLERS OF ANGLESEY t25
square in design, but most rudely and imperfectly formed. These measured -j^ in. The fourth was oval, of the same coloured glass ; the fifth of glass unstained, annular in form and rough on the outside, apparently with the design of more securely fastening a red enamel, with which it was partially coated. The size of this was equally minute. The form of the sixth was oval ; it was composed of a brittle and dull red substance, much resembling in colour and texture the enamel noticed above. A small brass coin was found, classified by Mr. Wynn Williams as a third brass of Claudius Gothicus. Here, again, the indications point to a Romano-British occupation."
9. Ibid. — An account of a barely- visible British village north of Parciau.
10. In the Arch. Camb. for 1868, p. 385, there is an article by the Hon. W. O. Stanley, M.P., " On the Remains of Ancient Circular Habitations on Holyhead Inland, v5alled CyttiauV Gwyddelod, at Ty Mawr, on the South- West Side of Holyhead Mountain." Through the kindness of the present Lord Stanley of Alderley, the writer had an opportunity, in November, 1906, of seeing some of these hut-circles and the objects dis- covered in them. The excavations are described with great care and thoroughness, and the article should be read in its entirety by all who are interested in the conditions of the life of early man in Anglesey. At Ty Mawr there are more than fifty huts. Mr. Stanley states that in these huts no fragments of pottery or iron were found. In 1830, the tenant of Ty Mawr Farm, Hugh Hughes, on removing some of the large stones near the huts, found underneath them a considerable number of bronze spear-heads of different forms and sizes : also well-formed bronze celts, axe-shaped and socketed^ with rings of various sizes, armlets and many red amber beads.
Mr. Stanley mentions the following hut-clusters : —
a. Ty Mawr.
b. Perth Namarch (Orduauce Map), on the north-east side of
126 THE EARLY SEI^LERS OtF ANGL£;SEY
the mountain, now destroyed by the extensive quarries for the breakwater.
c. Ynys Lyrad, on the Anglesey side of the Penrhos river,
halfway between the Stanley £mbankment and the Four-Mile Bridge.
d. A small cluster at Plas, in the lower ground, about J mile
to the south of that place, but recent cultivation has nearly obliterated all the circles.. There seem here to have been huts both of square and circular form.
On p. 401, there is a paper by Mr. Albert Way, on " Notices of Relics found in and near Ancient Circular Habitations explored by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, M.P., in Holyhead Island."
11. In the Arch, Camb, for 1896, p. 56, there is a careful description by Mr. W. Wynn Williams of the fortress of Din Sylwy and the dwellings discovered there. This fortress appears to have been occupied in Roman times, as coins of Nero, Vespasian, Constantius, and Constantine have been discovered therein.
12. In the Arch. Camb. for 1871, p. 34, there is a description of Tre'r Dryw Bach two furlongs from Caerleb, by W. Wynn Williams.
In this article Mr. Williams gives a list of the remains of ancient villages near the Menai Straits, as follows : —
a. On Menaifron land and part of the adjoining farm of
Gelliniog Qoch (destroyed).
b. In the rough ground to the north of Ehuddgaer House
(destroyed).
c. The entire bank from the village of Dwyran, by Treana to
beyond Maenhir — all brought into cultivation, but founda- tions of cyttiau are still traceable in parts.
d. On the farm of Gaervven, in Llanfair y Cwmmwd (de-
stroyed).
e. At Tan ben y Cefn (see Arch. Oamb., 1852, p. 209). /. At Trefwry, near Caerleb (destroyed).
g. In an adjoining field, on the farm of Treifan. In this last, which probably is but a renmant of the large Trefwry town, the foundations of the cyttiau are still untouched.
h. At Porthamei (see Arch. Camb., 1867, p. 281).
i. The Trefarthen field, next to Barras, where coins and potteiy have been found.
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 127
13. In the Arch. Camh. for 1871, p. 300, there is a minute and careful paper by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, on Dindryfal. Inside the fortress, in the oldest part, there are remains of huts. The writer discusses the nature of the roofs of these huts and their construction. As there are practically no roofstones found on the floors of the huts in Anglesey, he argues that the roofs were not of stone. At Dindryfal not a bit of pottery nor a shell appeared. In some " cyttiau" on the other side of the Gwna central flaggings were found in most huts and ashes so deeply piled, that the discoverer believed the natives never removed them.
14. In the Arch. Camh. for 1876, p. 103, there is an account of Dinas and Morwydd Ymrawyr, with a sketch of Dinas Cynfor, by Mr. W. Wynn Williams. This is an account of an ancient fortification at the most northerly point of the island.
15. In the Arch. Camh. for 1876, p. 239, there is a reference in the Notes and Queries to an account given in the Archceological Jom*nal for November 29th, 1876, p. 93, of discoveries then recently made by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, at Perth Dafarch, Holyhead Island. In the course of these excavations a piece of ornamented polished red Samian ware, a large bronze brooch, and pieces of two rings of bronze were found. ** All these things seem to have been cast aside out of the reach of the fire."
There is a further account of this excavation in the Arch. Camh. for 1878, pp. 32, 35. Inside the hut was a quern supported on a pedestal of stones, and inside that was a fragment of ornamental Samian pottery.
In a second hut, there were many pounding stones ^one 26 lb. in weight), stone hammers, and pieces of iron much corroded, which might have been spear- heads from the shape. A singular ornament of bronze was dug up 6 ft. below the surface, together with a flat stone deeply coloured with red haematite, on which it seemed to have been ground, like one discovered at Penybonc. A singular conglomerate of crusted quartz
128 THE EAftLY SEtTLERS OF AKQLEsEY
and other stone, seemingly cemented with red iron ore into a compact mass, which had been formed into a mould, was also dug out of these chambers. A piece of pottery, mended with iron wire, was found art Penybonc.
16. In the Arch. Camh. for the same year, p. 136, there is an account by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley of excava- tions at Ynys Lyrad, Anglesey. This is on the mainland of Anglesey, in Llanynghenedl Parish. It appears to be a link with those in Holyhead around the mountain. Mr. Stanley says that the excavations were made in 1874 by Colonel Augustus Fox and himself The arrange- ment and size of the huts were exactly similar to those of Ty Mawr, described in the December number for 1869, vol. XX vi, of the Archceological Journal. The following features appear to be characteristic : —
a. There were fire-places.
h, A stone basin was sunk in the ground of the hut floors.
c. There were large pounding stones.
d. The spindle- whorls were of the same type.
e. There were sharpening stones, with a hole in the corner for
suspension, similar to those found in the Swiss Lake- dwellings.
17. In the Arch, Camb. for 1892, there is a record by Mr. J. E. Griffith of British antiquities found at Plas Bach, near Cerrig Ceinwen, Anglesey. In 1889 Mr. Griffith found the remains of the floor of an old hut-dwelling. The following were the remains dis- covered therein : —
1. A stone muUer, abraded. 2, 11, 13. Stone rings.
3. A hammer-stone, abraded at both ends, and slightly polished
by contact with the hand of the user.
4. A clay bead.
5. A piece of Samian ware, perforated, probably for use as a
spindle-whorl.
6. A fragment of a hone or grinding-stone.
7. A crucible.
8. A fragment of an armlet of jet.
9. 10, 14, 16, 17. Spindle-whorls. 12. A stone disc.
15. A small hone.
18. Fragments of a cup of Kimmeridge shale.
THE BJARLY SBtTLBftS OF ANGLESEY 129
These remains were submitted to Mr. C. H. Read, of the British Museum, who says that some are un- doubtedly Roman, while others are British.
In addition to the preceding specimens, of which illustrations are given, Mr. Griffith found —
1. Two whole mullers.
2. Four broken ones.
3. Half of a saddle-quern.
4. Several spindle-whorls.
5. Stone balls.
6. Polishers. «
7. Whetstones.
8. A pounder.
9. Some copper slag.
About 20 yards away Mr. Griffith picked up an adder bead, the smallest he had ever seen, of a light green-coloured glass.
The inference that may be naturally drawn from these discoveries is, that the working and use of bronze continued as a local industry through the Early Iron Age and the Boman period, and that the Late-Celtic civilization and that of Roman times penetrated in some of its forms into a basis that was developed from the tradition of the Bronze Age without displacing it. The glass beads and the Samian pottery point indisputably to *' Roman" commerce.
In connection with the civilization in question, special attention may be called to certain household implements, such as querns and spindle-whorls. The following are the records of the discovery of querns in the island, from the most rudimentary to their more developed forms : —
1. In the Arch. Comb, for 1852, page 209, there is a paper on " The Remains at Tan ben y Cefn, Llanidan, Anglesey," in which a passage is quoted from Mona Antiqua (2nd edit., 1776, p. 89) as follows : " Near this last- mentioned place, on a piece of ground called Tref- wry, there are a great many circular stone foundations, on the side of the River Braint, and also on another spot of ground hard by there are two large quadrangles, lying almost contiguous on one side." The writer says
130 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
that about eight years before one of the quadrangles of Tan ben y Cefn was entirely removed, and the stones composing the outer wall and circular stone foundations (two in number) within it were carted away to fill up a quarry. The writer further says : ** As far as I can learn from persons who worked at this clearing, num- bers of hollowed stones like mortars were found there, of which I have seen several ; indeed, one or two have come into my posseesion ; and also in a hedge running across one end of the enclosure was found a vessel (1 am not sure whether of metal or earthen) containing Boman coins, many of which I understand are still in the possession of individuals in this county. Some of them I have procured, viz., a medal of the Empress Lucilla in good preservation, one of Antoninus Pius, and one of Carausius. Several querns, also of good workmanship, have been dug up at this spot. The larger quadrangle, which contained four of the circular foundations, has this year (1851-2) been removed in order to render the land available for agricultural purposes. The first thing worthy of observation which came to view was a kind of tank lined with flat stones, containing cockle-shells in an unopened state, its length 3 ft. by 1^ ft. I have now numbers of the shells by me. Several pieces of pottery, apparently Boman, were dug up ; also an upper and nether mill- stone, lying within one of the circular foundations, and, as might be inferred, in the position in which they were last used. . . . Great numbers of querns are constantly found in the neighbourhood, and large concave stones of a squared form, with convex stones which fit on them, apparently a ruder contrivance than the quern for bruising grain or other substances."
2. In the Arch. Camh. for 1860, p. 376, in the description of the temporary museum of the Association at Bangor, there is an account of a quern with an ornamental pattern, found in an old quarry at Blochty near Llanidan, with several skulls and other human bones.
THB liAttLT Sli^TtLBltS 01^ A^GLSSfiY 131
3. Ibid. — ^A quern with plain mouldings from the same place.
4. Ibid. — A quern found within one of the " cyttiau" at Tan ben y Cefn {Arch. Camb., 1852, p. 209).
5. A quern found in 1857 at Tantwr, near Rhudd- gaer (a Roman camp), near which was found the spindle- whorl mentioned above. This quern is remark- able for exhibiting on the under-side the process by which it was kept steady during the grinding of the com.
6. A quern found in a wall in the land of Tyddyn Prior, near Tan ben y Cefn.
7. A large flat upper stone of a quern, found at Treifan land, near the River Braint, above Trefwry.
8. A large oblong stone (granite) with concave sur- face, fitting a smaller stone of convex surface, which acts as a rubber. These two stones were found close together in a wall of the land of Treifan. All these objects were exhibited by the Rev. W. Wynn Williams.
9. In the Arch. Camby for 1861, p. 245, there is a letter by Professor Babington to the Editor on "Ancient Querns or Grain-crushers." In this letter Professor Babington refers to the last-named object, and states that he had recently obtained a similar implement, though of much ruder manufacture, for the museum of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. Speaking of the Treifan specimen, he says : " Perhaps they did not attract so much attention at that meeting as their interest, variety, and great antiquity deserved. It seems in the highest degree probable that they form the most primitive implement used in the manufacture of cereal food. In the words of Dr. Wilde {Catalogue of Antiquities in Mus. R.I.A., p. 104), 'it was formed of a flat stone, slightly hollowed upon the upper surface, so as to hold the parched grain, and a convex rubber, which was passed backwards and ftJrwards by the hand, and thus crushed the corn into meal.' The Royal Irish Academy possesses four or five of these substitutes for a mill, ail apparently much more rude than that figured
132 THBS BARLT SETTLEBS OF AKGLSSEY
in the Arch. Camb.^ which is perhaps one of the latest of its class. The pair of stones discovered at Anglesey Abbey in the fens of Cambridgeshire shows no attempt at finish, and is in all respects exceedingly rude^ although apparently well fitted to perform the service required 01 it. . . . I believe that the pair found in Anglesey and those met with in Cambridgeshire are the only examples of graia-crushers of thia type that have been noticed in Great Britain."
10. In the Arch Gamh. for 1862, p. 157, there is a letter from the Rev. W. Wynn Williams on "Ancient Grain-crushers," in which he gives the dimensions of the River Braint grain-crusher as follows : " Lower or concave stone — length, I ft. 7 ins. ; breadth, I ft. 1 in. ; thickness, 8 ins. Convex upper stone — length, 1. ft. 4^ ins. ; extreme breadth, 7|- ins. ; thickness, 3^ ins.'' Mr. Williams further says : " This latter, which may properly be called a muUer, is carefully tapered, and both ends are exactly alike. The upper and lower stones were found (as was stated at the Bangor Meeting) close together in a wall on the land of Treifan, near the River Braint in Anglesey. This wall, on one side, forms the boundary of a British village or assem- blage of cy ttiau, visited by members of the Association during the Wednesday's excursion. This is the only perject specimen of these old grain-crushers that I have ever met with."
11. Ibid. — " I have, however, sixteen fragments of the lower stones, and eleven of the rubbers or muUers, some belonging to instruments of a larger size than that which was shown at Bangor. Upon one of the portions of a lower stone there is, in addition to the concave surface upon which the muller worked, a small shallow cavity, 5 ins. at its greatest width, which appears to have been intended to receive the flour. I am disposed to consider the simple stone-mortars, which are rude in execution, as having been the first instru- ments used for pounding grain. Several of these, found in this and the adjoining parishes, are in my possession.
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANQLBSET 133
the largest about 1 ft., the smallest 2 ins. in diameter, and of every intermediate size."
12. In the ^rcA. Camh. for 1868, p. 385, there is an article by the Hon. William Owen Stanley, M.P., entitled " On the Remains of Ancient Circular Habi- tations in Holyhead Island," called Cyttiau'r Gwyddelod, at Ty Mawr, on the south-west side of Holyhead Mountain. A saddle-shaped quern of coarse grit was found.
. 13. Ihi(L — A rubbing-stone or grinder of the same grit-stone was found with it.
14. Ibid. — Another of granite was found on the floor. N.B. — In the Arch. Camh. for the same year, p. 401,
there is a paper by Mr. Albert Way on " Notices of Belies found in and near Ancient Circular Habitations explored by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley, M.P., in Holyhead Island," where the remains found during the Ty Mawr explorations are further described as follows : —
1. A primitive stone appliance for trituratmg grain ; possibly
millstone grit from Bodorgan. This is 18 J ins. by 13 J ins., the greatest thickness being about 5 ins. The upper surface was considerably hollowed in the course of grinding.
2. An oval rubber, measuring 12 ins. by 5 ins., flat on one
face and convex on the other.
3. A second similar " runner" or grinding-stone, of granite,
measuring 9^ ins. by 3J ins., was subsequently found. The grain was generally parched before crushing. Mr. Way says : " This is an implement of extreme antiquity." Another similar grain-crusher was found in a wall in the land of Treifan, near the River Braint in Anglesey. Mr. Way says : " Some are said to have been found in the Swiss Lake-dwellings."
15. Ibid. — It is stated that, in 1862, Mr. Stanley found other remains of querns. A portion of the lower stone of a quern found at Glanrafon was of millstone grit. Its diameter in its perfect state is 16 ins. The top of the stone is convex.
16. Ibid. — A small very rude pentagonal mortar, probably recent.
134 TAB EART4Y SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
17. Ibid. — A four-sided mortar, obtained at Pen J bone, where the cist enclosing urns and a jet necklace was found.
, 18. Ibid. — A ponderous cylindrical muller or grinding- stone of trap, found in an adjacent field in 1866.
19. Arch Camh.y 1871, p. 62. — It is said that at Caerleb a mortar had been let into the floor of a British hut {Arch Camh., 1866, p. 213).
20. Ihid. — A stone basin somewhat deeper than the Caerleb example was full of cocklenahells, when discovered on a farm near Llanddaniel.
21. In the Arch. Camb. for 1874, p. 16, there is an account of ancient hut remains, many of the quern stones from which were removed to Henblas.
N.B. — At the museum of the Carnarvon Meeting of 1876, the Rev. Wynn Williams of Bodewryd exhibited the specimens of queins that were in his possession.
22. In the Arch. Camb. for 1878, p. 32, in a paper by the Hon. W. O. Stanley, there is an account of excavations made in 1875 at Forth Dafarch, when a hut-circle was discovered. Within this some beautiful polished stones were found, and also a quern supported on a pedestal of stone, and inside that was a fragment of ornamental Samian pottery.
23. Ibid., p. 134. — There is an account by the Hon. W. O. Stanley of excavations at Ynys Lyrad, Anglesey, a place on the mainland of Anglesey in Llanynghenedl Parish. The arrangement and size of the huts were exactly similar to those of Ty Mawr.
a. There was a stone basin sunk in the ground of the hut
floors.
b. There were large pounding-stones.
N.B. — In the Arch. Camb. for 1881, p. 30, there is an article on querns by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell. This is a very valuable article, illustrated by woodcuts.
24. In the Aixh. Camb. for 1892, in his paper on the Plas Bach remains near Cerrig Ceinwen, Mr. J. E. Griffith mentions a stone muller.
25. 26. Ibid. — Two whole mullers.
THE EABLY SBTTLBEU9 OF ANGLESEY 135
27, 28, 29, 30. Ibid.— Four broken mullers.
31. Ibid, — Half of a saddle-quern.
32. Arch. Oamb., 1867, p. 281. — Quern from Forth- amel, built into a wall over a doorway.
Other domestic objects that are specially worthy of notice in this connection are spindle- wherls. These have been found as follows : —
1. In the temporary museum of the Bangor Meeting, Arch. Camh.^ 1860, p. 376, there is a reierance to a spindle-whorl of greenstone found on the land of Menaifron.
2. Ibid. — A spindle-whorl of schist, found at Tantwr.
3. 4, 5. Ibid. — Similar specimens in grit-stone and schist, found at Tyddyn Prior.
6. In the Arch. Camh. for 1868, p. 385, there is an article by the Hon. W. O. Stanley on *' The Remains of Ancient Circular Habitations in Holyhead Island." Among the objects discovered was a small perforated circular stone, about 1 in. in diameter, like a spindle- whorl.
N.B. — At the museum of the Carnarvon Meeting of 1876, there were exhibited six spindle-whorls found at Menaifron, Tantwr and Maenhir, Llangeinwen, Anglesey.
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, etc. In the Arch. Camh. for 1892 there is a reference to the discovery of several spindle- whorls at Plas Bach, near Cerrig Ceinwen, Anglesey, by Mr. J. E. Griffith.
The next Bronze- Age remains that claim our atten- tion are the burials. The bodies of this period were buried sometimes burnt, sometimes unburnt. The fol- lowing are the records for Anglesey : —
1. In the Arch. Camb. for 1849, p. 67, there is a letter on sepulchral remains near Holyhead, where the following information is given: "A farmer in the neighbourhood was a short time since digging up a small tumulus, which apparently consisted almost entirely of loose stones, when he came upon a piece of earthen- ware, in size and form very mucn resembling a beehive,
136 THE BARLY SETTLERS OV ANGLESEY
and in his eagerness to secure the treasure which he imagined lay deposited beneath, broke the earthen vessel in pieces, and underneath found a small vase not 6 ins. high^ full of calcined bones. This is for- tunately preserved, with its contents uninjured, but the vessel which concealed it is nearly destroyed. Close by this covered vase was another earthen vessel of smaller dimensions and of plainer workmanship, containing bones covered over in the same manner. The earthen coverings of both these vessels were fixed firm in their places by paving-stones placed edgewise, which, according to the statement of the farmer, ren- dered them so immovable that he was unable to extricate them without destroying them. The only articles preserved therefore are the two small vase's, one of which only is filled with bones, and a portion of the covering of one. The tumulus wherein they were found is of small dimensions, and is situated close upon the shore at a place called Perth Dafarch, about two miles south of Holyhead. There is now exposed to view a grave, formed of four slabs of stone placed on their edges, on which a large slab was laid horizontally as a covering, situated within 4 ft. or 5 ft. of the vases, but nothing was found in the grave." The letter is signed ''Cybi," and was written October 31st, 1848.
2. In the Arch Camh. for 1855, p. 18, in a paper by H. Longueville Jones, on ** Early British Remains in Anglesey," the first mention is made of Bedd Bronwen. The author says : —
" Bedd Bronwen. — In the marshy land by the course of the River Alaw, 1^ mile north-east of Llantrisant Church. The cistvaen remains ; the tomb was opened and the body removed some years ago " (see Angharad Llwyd's History of Mono).
In the Arch. Camh. for 1860 there is a letter on this subject, in which the statement is made — "A most gratifying instance of the preservation of what may be considered a national monument has just occurred. At Glan Alaw, in Anglesey, stands a tumulus, in which
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 137
was found some yeara ago a cistvaen, containing bones supposed to be those of the British princess, Bronwen. The tenant of the farm was preparing to plough the field in which it is, and if he had ploughed over the tumulus he might easily have obliterated it. How- ever, on the circumstance coming to the knowledge of the owner of the land, Mr. Da vies, of the Menai Bridge, that gentleman at once gave directions for preserving the tumulus, and expressed his intention of having it properly protected for the future."
3. In the temporary museum of Bangor of 1860, Arch. Camb., 1860, p. 376, there is an account of the exhibition of a large cinerary urn, found in a gravel pit at Pen y glanau by Miss Roberts, of Maentwrog.
N.B. — ^In the Arch. Camb. for 1868, p. 217, there is a long and very valuable paper on ^'Ancient Interments and Sepulchral Urns found in Anglesey and North Wales," by the Hon. W. O. Stanley, and with addi- tional observations by Mr. Albert Way. This is a full account of discovery No. 1 : —
''In October, 1848, an unusual type of interment was noticed on the shore of the small harbour or bay called Perth Dafarch, about midway between the South Stack and Perth y Capel. . . . Near the road leading to the bay there was a small mound that had originally been in all probability of greater elevation. Its dimen- sions were at the time of the discovery about 30 ft. only in circumference. It seemed to have been lowered on some previous occasion, and an enclosure wall formed adjoining to the mound, or partly crossing it, by which the shape of the hillock had been changed.
" The urn that was found had an elaborate orna- ment within the hollow lip of the vessel. It was made of coarse light-brown coloured ware, and ornamented with a trellised or lozengy pattern round the rim, and also on its inner margin, produced apparently by impressing a cord of twisted fibre or of sinew. A small vessel was found within the larger vessel. Both con- tained ashes, portions of incinerated bones with sand,
6th 8BB., VOL. vni. 10
138 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANOLESBT
of which some part had probably fallen into the cavity when the top stone was removed."
4. Ibid. — "A second deposit was found near the for- mer. The larger urn had become quite decayed, and had crumbled into black dust. Within it had been placed a small vessel of more diminutive size than the little highly-ornamented urn of the other interment.'*
5. Ihid.y p. 227. — "A few feet to the west of these remains a rudely-formed cist or grave was found, placed nearly east and west. It was constructed of slabs set edgeways, and covered by a fifth slab of large size. This resembled the graves at Towyn y Capel to the south of Forth Dafarch. No bones or remains of any kind were found, as it was stated, in this cist. Dry sand appeared covering its floor. There were some traces of fire and ashes, and it was even supposed that this cist might have served as an ustrinum, in which the corpses might have been burnt. Later on a con- siderable quantity of bones were found scattered around. Among the bones and sand one small portion of bronze was found. It seemed to have been a rivet, measuring about an eighth of an inch only in length. This little relic sufficed, however, to prove that some object, of wood possibly, or of bone or other perishable material, and compacted with metal, had been either burnt or deposited with the remains. From the marks upon it the urn appears to have been lined with fern leaves." Mr. Quickett, the expert to whom the remains were submitted, thought that the bones were those of a child, and that with it were the remains of a dog.
N.B. — Ihid,, p. 233, there is an account of Bedd Bronwen. It was found in 1813 on the bank of the River Alaw, and the urn placed in the British Museum. In 1821 the urn was in the possession of Richard Llwyd, the Bard of Snowdon, then living in Chester. It was subsequently presented to the British Museum through Dr. Owen Pughe. Fragments of a drinking- cup were found with Bronwen's urn. Mr. C. H. Head, of the British Museum, regards this as belonging to an
TEIE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANOLBSiSY 139
older interment. Professor Owen thought the burnt bones were those of a woman. Drinking-cups almost invariably accompany unburnt remains, and occ\ir along with flint weapons of superior workmanship.
6. Ibid., p. 243. — Another urn was found in Anglesey about 5 yards from the turnpike road towards Holy- head, at a spot opposite the ''Anglesey Arms," Menai Bridge. The discovery occurred during the formation of a road to Beaumaris about 1825. The interment was found in the grounds at Cad nan t. The fragments were given by the owner of that place to Mr. Turner's father.
7 and 8. Ibid. — In 1864 two urns with burnt bones were found near the landing-place for steamers at the village of Menai Bridge. One of them was destroyed by the finders, the other came into the possession of the late Dr. Thomas, then residing in the neighbour- hood. It has unfortunately perished. Within one of the urns lay a bronze pin, about 3^ ins. in length, one end pointed, the other flat, in like fashion as bronze *' awls" often found in urns in Wiltshire, described by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Captain Griffith, Chief Con- stable of Anglesey, sent a bronze blade lately found by him amongst burnt bones at the same spot. Length, 2^ ins. ; breadth, f in.
9. Ibid. — Another "cup,'' ornamented with a pattern someivhat less elaborate, was disinterred, a little before the composition of the article, near a farm-house belonging to Mr. Lloyd Edwards, at Rhosbeirio, in the northern part of Anglesey, about 2 miles from the coast, and in a district full of ancient remains. A burial-place was brought to light in the farmyard ; it measured about 3|- ft. in each direction, and was covered by one large flagstone, the bottom and sides being formed of several flat slabs. Within this cist lay human bones and the urn, which is elaborately orna- mented with lines of impressed punctures produced by some blunt instrument ; it was much broken, but has been skilfully repaired by Mr. Ready. No bones or
10 «
140 THE E^RLY SSTTLERS OF AKOLVSET
ashes were found in the urn; the body appeared to have been interred crouched or doubled up. This cup, which was placed near the head or shoulders of the corpse, measures 8 ins. in height ; the circumference at the mouth is only 11 ins. It is of a light reddish- brown colour, and the surface is slightly lustrous in some parts. The urn remains in the possession of Miss Maria Conway GriflBth, now Lady Eleade, of Gar- reglwyd, Anglesey.
10. In the Arch. Camb. for 1875, p. 126, there is an article by W. O. Stanley on the Presaddfed urns. The remains found were as follows : —
1. £emains of more than one inhumed body.
2. A considerable quantity of pottery of various kinds, amongst
which was some of substantial white ware, such as has been found in connection with the cyttiau. The postern was of a dark drab colour, with patterns like fern-leaves and chevrons, surmounted with a narrow band of entwined lines.
3. An ornamental bead, probably part of a necklace, was
found with the cUbris, It is of a light and black sub- stance, something like jet (for published account see Arch. Camb., 1870, p. 365). The bead turned out to be of horn or wood, not of jet. The urns were about 10 ins. in diameter. The lower portions have been completely destroyed. They were probably similar to an urn found in a barrow at Carreg Ddewi in 1850, orna- mented in a similar way, and composed of the same sort of clay, the dimensions of which were 8 J ins. in diameter and 9 ins. high. The tumulus was situated on a very elevated plateau above the old mansion of Presaddfed.
N.B. — Mr. Stanley says : " Some years ago many urns were found at Presaddfed by Captain Kings labourers"; but, unfortunately, these were lost.
11. In the Arch. Camb. for 1876, p. 239, there is an account of discoveries recently made by the Hon. W. O. Stanley at Perth Dafarch, Holyhead Island, during the excavation of a green mound, close to the road on the left hand leading from Holyhead, just above the spot where the urns were found in 1848. An arrangement of stones was found, which apparently had formed a
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY 141
rude cist for the protection of an urn or urns. Mr. Stanley thought that the tumulus had been previously opened by unskilful hands. Fragments of potteiy, red and black, were found ; and portions of small urns very similar to those found in the graves at Pen y bono in 1869. Mr. Stanley thought that several urns must have been found and broken by the unskilful excavators of former times. Under the large stones or broken cist there was found a bone needle, ornamented with a lozenge pattern about 5 ins. long. It had been broken at the small end, where it had been perforated to take in the sinew or thread, and had probably been used to sew up the bones after cremation in some old cloth or other substance ; these needles or pins are so fre- quently found with urn- burials. The remains of a fire- place were also discovered. Mr. Stanley thinks that the fireplaces, the fragments of the bones of deer, pigs, pieces of pottery, etc., were associated with the funeral feasts.
12. In the Arch. Camh, for 1878, p. 22, there is a further account of his excavations by the Hon. W. 0. Stanley. A red cornelian intaglio was found close to the spot where the bone needle whs discovered. An intaglio very like it was found at Tomen y Mur. It is undoubtedly of the Roman period, and probably by a British artist (p. 34). Several fragments of highly- ornamented pottery, similar to the drinking-cups found in Bronwen's urn and in a grave at Rhosbeirio, were placed at the back of a skeleton buried in crouching form.
13. Ibid. — An urn was found, but it crumbled to pieces at the touch. The urn had been placed with the mouth downwards on a stone. There was found a finely-worked white flint spear-head or knife, with a sharp edge for cutting. These objects were on the same level as the urns found in 1848.
14. In the Arch. Camb. for 1882, p. 210, there is an account by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, of Dinam, of cinerary urns found at Cae Mickney, Anglesey (near Dinam). The urns were small and plain.
142 THS EARLY SETTLBR8 OF ANGLESEt
15. In the Arch. Camh. for 1906, p. 278, there is an account by Mr. Harold Hughes of an earthenware vessel from the banks of the Alaw.
In Anglesey, we seem to have a persistence of the older type of dwelling even into the Boman period, since undoubted Roman remains have been found in dwellings of the Bronze-Age type. Consequently, the same type of dwelling must have been in use in the Early iron Age and the period of Late-Celtic Art. Nevertheless, the traces of the Iron Age are extremely rare, and of the characteristic products of the Late- Celtic period there is only one record of discovery, that at Llangwyllog. Some of the later bronze remains indicate an approach to the Late-Celtic period, but their forms are otherwise known to be of the Bronze- Age type. In view of the fact that Anglesey lay on the main route of trade between Britain and Ireland, it is surprising that more of such objects have not been found. The following is a description of the Late- Celtic objects of Anglesey : —
In the Arch. Camb. for 1896, p. 331, the late Mr. Romilly Allen published a list of Late-Celtic finds in Great Britain, and he mentions as the only Late- Celtic find in Anglesey that of Llangwyllog (3 miles north-west of Llangefni), where bronze tweezers were found, with a necklace of amber and jet beads, and a bronze razor and implements of the Late-Bronze Age. The account of this discovery is given in the Arch. Camb. for 1866, p. 97, in an article entitled "Notice of Ancient Relics found at Llangwyllog, in Anglesey," by Albert Way. The discovery itself was made in the summer of 1854. In view of the importance of this discovery, which connects Anglesey with the Late- Celtic civilization, the following summary of Mr. Way's remarks is given :
*'In the summer of 1854 a remarkable deposit of small relics of antiquity, chiefly of bronze, amber, and jet, was accidentally brought to light in the parish of Llangwyllog, in Anglesey, in a little stream, one of the
TH£! BARLV SBTTLEBS OF ANGLESEY 143
tributaries of the Cefni, a river which after traversing the marshy district to the south of Llangefni flows into the great Malldraeth estuary near the extreme southern promontory of the island. It is probable that, at an early period, the river may have been navigable for small vessels, even to a considerable distance from the upper end of the Malldraeth sands, where at the present time the waters of the Cefni flow into the sea. . . . The discovery above mentioned having come to the knowledge of the Hon. W. O. Stanley, M.P., the ancient relics, which had been obtained from the finder by the Ven. John Wynne Jones, Archdeacon of Bangor, were with his permission exhibited by Mr. Stanley at the Meeting of the Archseological Institute at Warwick in July, 1864. They were subsequently shown at a meeting of that Society in London, and have been briefly noted in their Journal." The account of the finding was communicated to Mr. Way by the Archdeacon, who was Rector of Heneglwys. The Archdeacon's account is as follows : " I am now enabled to state, on the authority of the finder, that some of the rings and beads were first noticed by him at the bottom of a little stream which flows by Llangwyllog. The water was very low at the time, and, on looking towards the bank, the man saw an aperture, out of which he picked with his fingers several more of the articles such as those which he had found at the bottom of the stream. The channel had recently been widened at both sides at that place, which is described as situated about 400 yards above Llangwyllog Church."
Mr. Way says : " It will be perceived by the anti- quary conversant with the types and distinctive character of Irish antiquities that the relics here figured present a marked resemblance to those of the same class that occur in the sister Kingdom.'* Mr. Way mentions particularly the gold penannular capsules or bullae, with armlets of the same metal, stated to have been disinterred about 1856 near Gaerwen, and of a type never before found, so far as Mr. Way was aware, except in Ireland, where they are of rare occurrence.
144 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ANGLESEY
1. A bifid flat-bladed object of bronze, bearing a resemblance to an arrow-head, but, according to Irish antiquaries, it was intended to be used as a razor. In the Catalogue of the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, Sir William Wilde has classed these anoma- lous objects with "toilet articles," of which, as he observes, the museum possesses few of bronze in com-
E arisen with Scandinavian collections. In these may e noticed "a large assemblage of tweezers, some of them decorated with gold, and knife-like articles in great variety, that appear to have been used as razors." A comparison of other razors is given from the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, the museum of Trinity College, Dublin, and the British Museum. In the specimen found in Anglesey there are unquestionably marks of insertion in some kind of handle, indicated by a slight incrustation of aerugo on the stem or tang, and showing the extent to which the metal had been inserted in the haft. Some, however, regarded these objects as arrow-heads. According to Mr. Barnwell there were relics of the same kind preserved in the museum at Edinburgh.
2. An armlet of thin bronze wire, simple in con- struction. One end had been broken on. It had doubtless a little hook, like the other portion of the wire, forming an effective fastening. The hooks are slightly flattened.
3. A pair of bronze tweezers, comparatively rare in the early period of the use of bronze. These objects seem to be rare amongst Irish antiquities. There is a single pair in the collections of the Royal Irish Academy.
4. An oval bronze relic of uncertain use. Mr. Way says : '' It seems to have been the mount or collet in which some object has been fixed. On the reverse there is a perforated knob, by which the article — ^an ornament, or possibly a charm — may have been sus- pended and worn about the person.
5. A hollow bronze ring, with perforations trans- versely ; one of them oval, and consiaerably larger than
THE EARLY SETTLERS Of ANGLESEY 145
that on the opposite side of the hoop. This relic has a singularly Hibernian aspect. Hollow rings and bosses witn lateral loops or with apertures, through which ring- chains and other complicated adjustments are affixed, occur frequently in Ireland.
6. A bronze boss or button, with a shank on the reverse, and very skilfully cut in one piece. These little bosses bear much resemblance to objects for various uses found in Ireland, such as the heads of pins for the dress, ornaments connected with chains, and the like.
7. Bronze rings varying considerably in size, from about If in. to f in., used probably either for harness, armour, or personal decoration. Rings of this kind are found in singular profusion in Ireland.
8. A ring, apparently some hard, close-grained stone of dark green colour. It is probably part of a neck- lace.
9. A wedge-shaped bead of some lustrous black substance, probably jet or anthracite of fine quality.
1 0. A necklace of beads of amber. Of these, eighteen were obtained from the finder, but probably there were originally more. These are for the most part neatly fashioned. They are not spherical, but considerably depressed, some of them being so flat at to resemble thick rings. They range from about If in. at their greatest diameter to somewhat less than f in. The amber is mostly opaque, mottled with dingy or greenish discolour- ations. Five of the beads, however, are of light, honey- coloured, translucent amber ; two are black, and quite opaque ; and there are examples, Mr. Way thinks, of the opaque, yellow material such as is obtained from the Baltic. Beads and ornaments of jet are found abundantly in Ireland. In the museum of the Royal Irish Acaaemy there are 491 beads of amber. Amber has been found in British barrows. Mr. Way says : *' Numerous beads of amber or resin lay in rows on the gold corselet found at Mold. These relics were trans- mitted by the Archdeacon to the British Museum."
146 THE EARLY SETTLERS O* AKQLfiSEY
Some of these relics are mentioned in the Catalogue of Bronze Age Antiquities in the British Museum, p. 92, where it is said : " Two jet and one bronze ring with lateral perforations, recalling the heavy bronze rings from Ireland, were found with a razor at Hen- eglwys, Anglesey."
Amber beads were used in Denmark in the Stone Age,^ but there is ixo reference to this as occurring in Britain. This Catalogue gives no instance of the use of jet, except on p. 113, where there is a reference to a jet bead of exceptional size and shape from a long barrow at Burton Fleming, E.R. Yorks. Jet and amber were common enough in the Bronze Age. Amber and jet were sometimes combined in necklaces in the Early Iron Age. In 1879, at Birdlip in Gloucester, sixteen beads were found, most of which were of amber, while two were of jet and one of grey marble. Again, glass is sometimes found in the Bronze Age, but becomes of frequent occurrence in the Early Iron Age. The fol- lowing is a list of the glass beads found in Anglesey : —
1. In the account of the temporary museum of the Bangor Meeting of 1860, there is a reference to the exhibition of a large green bead of glass, with guilloche pattern in yellow, found at Carn, near Brynsiencyn {Arch. Camb., 1860, p. 376).
2. A collection of smaller beads, green and plain, found at Rhuddgaer.
3. In the Arch. Camb. for 1866, p. 469, it is stated that there were found near the Henblas cromlech a small ring of blue glass, an urn containing ashes, and a slab of freestone, 4 ft. long, beneath which were two or three barrowfuls of ashes without pottery or masonry. (Paper by H. Prichard.)
4. In the Arch. Camb. for 1867, p. 108, in a paper by Mr. Hugh Prichard on " Early Remains at Llan- eugrad," there is a reference to the finding of some thin pieces of slate, a bit of glass, smooth on one side and rough on the other, a chip of flint, and two very small
^ See British Museum Stone Age Catalogue, p. 90.
THfi BARLY SETtLtlRS Of ANGLESElr 147
pieces of bronze, one a fragment of an ornament, the other of a plate so thin and fragile that it broke with a touch.
5. Ihid. — We also discorered six minute beads ; they were of glass of an azure blue, square in design, but most rudely and imperfectly formed. These measured ^ in. The fourth was oval, of the same coloured glass ; the fifth of glass unstained, annular in form and rough on the outside, apparently with the design of securely fastening a red enamel, with which it was partially coated. The size of this was equally minute. The form of the sixth was oval. It was composed of a brittle and dull red substance, much resembling in colour and texture the enamel noticed above. A small brass coin was found, classified by Mr. Wynn Williams as a third brass of Claudius Gothicus.
6. In the-4rc^. Camh. for 1873, in an account of the Treiorwerth tumulus by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell, it is said that a bead (? of glass) was found near, of black picked out with white, and which was part of a neck- lace or some pendent ornament. Mr. Barnwell suggests that possibly the bead was not connected with the bodies.
7. In the Arch, Camh, for 1892 there is a record by Mr. J, E. Grifi^th of his finding the floor of an old hut dwelling at Plas Bach, near Cerrig Ceinwen, Anglesey, and about 20 yards away an adder bead, the smallest he ever saw, of a light green -colon red glass.
From the Late -Celtic find- of Llangwyllog it is difficult to dissociate the deposit of bronze implements and amber that was discovered in 1830, and brought to the notice of the Society of Antiquaries in 1835 by the then Lord Stanley of Alderley {Arch. Camh. for 1868, p. 419). This deposit has been already described in relation to the overlapping of the Bronze and Iron Age in Anglesey.
In Arch. Camh., 1867, p. 50, a piece of iron was dug up close to where pottery was found at Penihos Llugwy
148 THE EARLlr SETTL^BS OF ANGLESEY
by Mr. Hugh Prichard, but he was certain that it was a piece of a very modern reaping-hook. In the light of the Din Llugwy excavations tne study of the Late- Celtic and Romano-British civilization of Anglesey has entered on a new phase, and it is to be hoped that the other ancient settlements will be explored with equal thoroughness.
In Arch. Camh., 1878, p. 35, there is a reference to the finding of pieces of iron and traces of red hematite at Forth Dafarch. Since the meeting of the Associa- tion at Llangefni, 1907, fresh discoveries, apparently of Bronze- Age burials, have been made near Pentraeth during the process of excavations connected with the making of the new branch of the L. & N. W. Railway to Benllech. These discoveries included fragments of urns, and will doubtless be fully described elsewhere.
Since the above article was sent to the press, the writer has been greatly gratified to discover, through the Rev. Evan Evans of Llansadwrn, Anglesey, that certain stone implements have been found in the island in addition to those recorded in the Arch. Camb. An account of these with sketches will appear in the Archaeological Notes and Queries. — E. A,
149
THE FLEMISH BELL OF ST. NICHOLAS AT NICHOL ASTON CHURCH, GOWER.
By GEORGE E. HALLIDAY, F.R.LB.A., Diocesan Surveyor for the Archdeaconry of Llandaff.
NiCHOL ASTON Chorch stands by the roadside on the highway from Swansea to Penrice, and within some ten minutes' walk of Oxwich sands.
It is said that this little building was removed, stone for stone, to its present site, ages ago — no one seems to know when — from a spot known as the " Church Field," situate amongst the woods, and nearer the seashore, about half a mile east of the present church.
Here the writer found traces of an ancient building, but whether these fragments of old walling protruding from the sand belonged to an earlier church, or to some other ecclesiastical structure, as the field-name seems to imply, it is impossible to determine.
One thing, however, seems certain, that this removal, if ever a removal took place at all, was made in mediaeval times, as the writer found the entrance to the rood loft closed up with masonry, and some frag- ments of the wooden door-frame still left to tell their tale.
The font, too, has every appearance of belonging to the Norman period. The circular bowl and circular stem are carved from a single block of stalagmite. The Rev. J. Da vies, in his West Gower, describes Reynoldstone font as being composed of the same material. These blocks of stalagmite were, in all probability, obtained from one of the several caverns, locally known as *' holes," to be met with in the neighbouring cliffs.
Apart from the structure, there is one relic now preserved in this little building, which measures only
150 THE FLEMISH BELL OP 8T. NICHOLAS
AT NICH0LA8T0K CHURCH, QOWER 151
&
152 THE PLBMISH BELL OF BT. HI0H0LA8
47 ft. internally from east to west, of more than usual interest, namely, *' The Flemish Bell," which does its duty to-day just as well as, one might almost say better than, when it was first rung in Gower nearly four hundred years ago.
The bell was cast in 1518, as the inscription round its dome denotes : —
"Ic been chegoten int jaer ons Heeren 1518 " (I am cast in the year of our Lord 1518), Figs. 1, 2, 3,
and 4. The illustrations are taken from photographs of the bell. The following, viz., Figs. 5 and 6, were photographed from plaeter-caets of the two seals, hence the very delicate casting is not represented so clearly as it might be. The bell is 2 ft. in diameter. Kound the dome is a band of fleur-dc-lys, below which is the inscription. Below this again are the two hexagonal seals, one in better preservation than the other, owing to its being affixed to the eastern or less exposed aide of the bell, which was and ie still hung in an open bell-cote.
AT HTCHOLABTON OHTTRCH, QOWER
153
The eastern seal, Fig. 5, is 2^ ina. high and 3 ins. wide, representing the virgin Mary, crowned, with the Infant Saviour in her arras, standing on the crescent moon. Above the Virgin's head is a very small open- mouthed face, with fine lines descending from the mouth, which appears to represent the breathing of
Fift. S
the Holy Spirit On the right side is a representation of the Crucifixion, with a skull below the Cross.
The western seal. Fig. 6, is 3 ins. high by 3^ ins. wide, and shows the Infant Saviour bearing a cross, from which is hung a circle : there is a minute inscrip- tion round this seal, which owing to exposure is now illegible.
STU 8BR., VOL. VIIL II
154 THE FLEMISH BELL OF 8T. NICHOLAS
The writer sent a sketch of the bell and photographs of the seals to Dr. Coenen of Lean warden, Holland, a well known Dutch antiquary, and secretary to the ^'Friesch Genoefschap," who is of opinion that this bell was cast by one of the celebrated family of bellfounders named Van Won, whose foundry was at Kampen in Holland. This family, as Dr. Coenen says, " furnished many churches outside Holland with bells," viz. : —
To Ramsloh in Sagelterland, a bell dated . . 1541 To a chnrch at Golcar, two bells . 1483 and 1493
To Leqnmer Voorwerto 1496
To Erfurt . 1497
To Sirkwernm 1508
The founder of the last bell was Arent Van Won, who also cast a bell for Stiens in Friesland, dated 1517.
The seals on the latter bell resemble those at Nicholaston. One depicts the Virgin and Child, with kneeling figures and angels above. The second seal on the Stiens bell depicts St. Vitus, tutelar saint of the church at Stiens. The lettering of these two bells is identical ; hence Dr. Coenen, who has personally examined the Stiens bell, considers that the Nicholaston bell was cast by the " renowned family of Van Won."
The Rev. J. Davies states in his History of West Gower that at Nicholaston is to be found the only Dutch bell in Gower. He mentions, however, a Flemish bell at Baschurch, Salop, and Bromswell, Suffolk.
This most interesting bell was quarter tuned and remounted in 1894, and it was also provided with a new clapper, which was sadly needed.
It is interesting to note that the old chalice in use at Nicholaston is also of Dutch manufacture.
155
THE TOWN OF HOLT, IN COUNTY
DENBIGH :
ITS CASTLE, CHURCH, FRANCHISE, AND DEMESNE
By ALFRED NEOBARD PALMER (Continued from page 434, Vol, vti, 6th Series.)
CHAPTER IV.
The Castle and Municipality op Holt
(eondtided)
The object of this chapter is to complete what has been left unsaid in the three chapters preceding concerning what may be called the military and municipal history of Holt. The chapter will therefore be divided into two sections, the first dealing with the. Castle, and the second with the Corporation, its composition and doings.
SECTION I.— THE CASTLE OF HOLT.
At the beginning of 1642 the county of Denbigh was filled with excitement as to the quarrel between the King aud Parliament, and many, especially on the eastern side of the county, were in sympathy with the popular party, although Denbighshire, as a whole, stood fast for the King. Holt Castle, however, was patched up, and held for Charles I, and the tower on the bridge strengthened. The immediate neighbour- hood of the Castle was also cleared of buildings which might give shelter to assailants. After this we never rewi of the Welsh court-house in the Castle yard, probably destroyed at this time. I copy the following
15*6 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
entries, many of them almost undecipherable now, from the note-book of George Hope, Esq., steward to the Earl of Bridgwater : —
1G43. Payd the Carpenters for palling -down the bnilding at honlt castle iiijs.
4 Sept., 1643. Rec^ for otes out of the honlt barne sowld by my
lord CapelP xvij/i. viij«. ind.
15 Doc, 1643. Payed the slater at the honlt for .... of for baye of
bnilding along by the Gatehouse ziij«. iiijd.
Payed the carpenter for palling downe of the same bnilding at the same time iiij«.
The last entry shows in what a condition of panic those holding the Castle were, repairing and destroying a building by the gatehouse on the same day. The Parliamentarians had, in fact, just captured the bridge, and were in possession of the town.
On the 9th November, 1643, Sir William Brereton,* with "five Cheshire foote companies and three or fowre troopes of horse, and three or four companies of countrey dragooners, which were all we could spare," drew out from Nantwich, " joining five companies of Lancashire foote and one or two troopes of horse, and one or two companies of dragooners, under the command of Colonell John Booth and Lieut. -Colonell Peter Egerton and about twoe hundred foote and one troope of horse of Sir Thomas Myddeltons," and arrived at "Fame" (Farndon). After various attempt^s the Parliamentary commander marched most of his men along the Dee, to a point at which he made a feint as though he intended to cross there, the enemy facing them on the other side, *' so farre remote from the bridge" as to give the opportunity desired. Where- upon the Parliamentary troops (the reserve, it is to be
1 Lord Capell was at this time governor of the Royal forces in North Wales and in Cheshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.
^ Sir William Brereton, knt. and bart., of Handforth, was com- mander-in-chief of the Parliamentary forces in Cheshire and Staf- fordshire, and Sir Thomas Myddelton, knt., of Chirk Castle, major- general of the Parliament in North Wales.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 157
supposed) rushed along the bridge, put ladders to the tower thereon, cut the ropes of the drawbridge with axes, and threw grenades among the defenders, while another party broke in the gates below. The bridge, deemed " impregnable,*' was thus captured, and the triumphant Parliamentarians, crossing it, met and routed completely Colonel ElliceV regiment of foot .'ind Major Trevors* regiment of horse, pursuing them, taking many prisoners, and losing few or none (see Sir William Brereton's report, printed in Appendix I, "Thirteenth Report of the Historical Manuscripts Com- mission"). This account is in its main features confirmed by Edward Burghall, the minister of Acton, near Nant- wich, in his Providence Improved. Burghall, who, being a zealous Puritan, probably accompanied the party, and was at any rate well informed concerning it, gives us the names of three of the chief prisoners — '' captain Price, captain Jones, and lieutenant Salus- bury." He tells us also that Sir Thomas Myddelton was with Sir William Brereton, This affair seems to have happened on November 9, 1643. Captain John Robinson, of Gwersyllt, however, held the Castle with such determination that the Parliamentary forces passed on to Wrexham, where many joined them, leaving behind at Holt a detachment to watch the Castle. Forty men of this detachment were, on March 12 following, captured by Prince Rupert in one of his flying expeditions. And, indeed, just then the King's cause was for a time in the ascendant in this district. Major-General Sir John Owen, at the end of February, crossed Newbridge, passed through Ruabon to Wrex- ham, and encamped at the beginning of March on Common Wood, and *' on Wednesdaye the xix of
^ Robert Ellioe, Esq., of Croes Newydd, near Wrexham, com- mander imder Lord Capell of the Royalist forces in the oonnties of Denbigh and Flint.
* Mark Trevor, of Bryu Cunallt, in the parish of Chirk, after- wards Sir Mark Trevor, kut, Visooant Dungannon and Baron of Ros Trevor in Ireland.
158 THE TOWN OF* HoLT,
March 1644-5/'* the King's party drawing their arms towards Holt, ** the Prince [Rupert] hanged xxiiij countrey men, some of them constables, and othersome simple men, for that they were not so forward in performing of his command as he expected." But after the fall of Chester, in which garrison Colonel John Robinson had been detained, Holt Castle (now under the charge of Sir Richard Lloyd, of Esclus Hall, near Wrexham, as governor) began to be invested closely by the Parliamentary forces, and in January, I64f, was surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton, or, in his absence, to Colonel Pope. Sir Richard was allowed to go beyond the seas, and have the benefit of his personal estate not exceeding £300 in value, and his wife and children the value of his lands not exceeding £300 yearly. The date for the surrender is confirmed by Sir William Maurice's Note- Booh. During the leaguer of the castle ninety-six houses were burnt in Holt, perhaps during sallies or attempted reliefs from Chester. A part of the town had been burnt before. John Lewis, of Gwersyllt, lost the use of his hands during the siege of Holt Castle, and was allowed sixty shillings a year by the justices on July 11, 1648. Thomas Pulford, of Wrexham, gent., was inside at the time of the surrender. So, also, it appears, was Humphrey Lloyd, of Lower Berse, gent.
No credit can be given to the belief so prevalent at Holt, and declared to be "a tradition," that Oliver Cromwell was present there at the time of the siege.
Major John Sadler was in 1647 Governor of Holt in the Parliamentary interest, and one of the commis- sioners named in the Act of 16|^ for " The Better Propagation and Preaching of the Gospel in Wales." He held the mayoral chair of the borough in the year
^ Memorials of the Civil War in Cheshire and the Adja^xnt Counties^ edited bj J. Hail for the Lancashire and Cheahire Reoord Society.
IK COUNTY DENBIGH 159
1649, and is probably to be identified with a Wrexham wan of the same name. In that case several of his children, by his wife Margaret, were baptised at Wrexham between 1624 and 1639. It has been stated that his daughter, Martha, was the wife of Thomas Edgworth, son of Roger Edgworth, gent., of Holt, but this statement needs verification. The closing years of Major Sadler s life were spent in penury, and on October 4, 1659, he came before the justices of the peace sitting at Wrexham in quarter sessions, and told a pitiful tale, declaring that he had served in the late wars for ten years, and received many wounds, had since become decayed in his estate, and was not able thenceforth to subsist without relief. The justices thereupon ordered a pension of £8 a year out of " the maimed soldiers' mize" to be paid him, but of this, in the year following, after the Restoration, he was deprived, and I cannot find him afterwards so much as mentioned, unless he be the *'[...] Sadlerus de hoult" buried there on January 11, 166f.
It would seem as though, before the outbreak of the Civil War, Charles I had sold Holt Castle and its materials to the Earl of Bridgwater. The jurors of the Parliamentary Survey of 1649, after referring to various parcels of land within the precincts of, or pertaining to, the Castle,^ declare that ** the fore recyted Premisses were held for many years past by the Right hono'ble John Earle of Bridgwater deceased (colore officij) as he was stuard of the said Lo'pp of Bromfeild and Yale, w'th out paying any Rent att all to ye Crovvne, hee haveing purchased in fee the said Capitall Manc'on or Courte Howse (being a Castle nowe garrisoned by the Parliam'). And in that he purchased not the foresaid Landes but the Castle, Materials thereof and the onte howses therevnto helonginffe, we haue retorned the said
^ These parcels were the ditch in which the Castle stood, the ontward court, the garden plot, the green court, the orchard, the little park, and the pools, all but the last-named (see chap. Ill) within the Castle precincts.
160 THE TOWN OP HOL*,
Lands in present possession, being p'cell of the Demeasnes belonging to the said Lo'pp.' This seems to be a survey (see Powys Fadog, vol. vi, pp. 498 and 499) supplementary to the Survey of 1649, some quotations from which will be given presently. The jurors say further that the lease of the markets to Sir Bichard Grosvenor, Bart., was then expired, and claimed to be purchased in fee farm by Robert Worrall, but they returned the toll as " in p sent possession," that is, as neither leased nor sold. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that sold they were intended to be, for there is a list of lands and houses, dated the seventh year of Charles I and printed in Powys Fadog, vol. iv, pp. 76 and 7 7), which lands were evidently in the hands of the commissioners or patentees of James I for sale, with reservation of rents. Among these items were the tolls of the market and bridge of Holt, the barn adjacent to the court-house there, and the " Utter [outer] Gatehouse to Castrum Leon belonging" ; also the house between the said Utter Gatehouse and the stable of the said Castle ; the stable extending from the said Castle to the River Dee ; the bake- house with the brewhouse and malthouse next the Dee ; and the garden and dovehouse and all orchards there.
A few particulars from the Parliamentary Survey of Bromfield and Yale, taken in February, 1649, may be now given. The rents of assize for the town of Holt were then £30 3s. 1 Id., and the fee-farm rent there £32 7s. lO^d, in all £62 Us. 9^d. In Hewlington there was fee-farm rent only — £19 35. Id. The Castle ditch and yard and the little park and the pools were all held by the Earl of Bridgwater, as Steward of Bromfield and Yale, without rent, but the juronj conceived them as ** out of graunt/' that is, either as forfeited or as lands the lease whereof had expired (see before, p. 159), and as worth £5 105. yearly. The jurors further declare that the Earl of Bridgwater held, by what grant they could not discover, Urackstring's
W COt!JTt DENBlOtt l6l
Meadow {^ acres), Saunders Hey (6 acres), the Lords Meadow (16 acres), and the Bull Meadow (6 acres), except 1 acre in the last named in Hevvlington, in all worth £60 yearly. They also say that " there are two p cells of land called the Broad land and the bushie land w** hath biene inclosed and taken from the Com'ons called the Com'on Wood and layd in to the Parke called Mersley a/5. Holt Parke cont' neere joo acres held by the said Earle of Bridgwater, by whatgraunt we finde not, woorth yearely £40 0 0."^ The jurors also report ** a parcell of land called The Rough Croft lyeing neere to the said towne of Holt cont' by estimac on 6 acres'* as *'held by Richard Dauies Esq', at the yearely rent of vis., but by w* graunt we Find not, woorth yearely £3 0 0."
The toll of the bridge and fairs of Holt, which was in the hands of Sir Richard Grosvenor, and in arrears for seven or eight years, was still set down at 225. a vear, the alleged lease to Robert Worrall (see p. 160) oeing ignored or then unknown. I cannot at present explain the later history of the toll.
These particulars of the survey of Bromfield and Yale (1649) have been obtained from a part copy of the same, transcribed in 1887 at the expense of the Corporation of Wrexham, out of Griffith's Fund. Another transcript is given at the end of vol. vi, Powys Fadog.
Holt Castle was, of course, dismantled after its capture, and became used henceforth as a general quarry : houses, boundary walls, pigsties were built with its squared stones, which indeed were employed within the memory of many living as building material and for embanking the river. The sketch by Buck
^ At a later enquiry held in 1651 it was decided that the two parcels of land above mentioned had been dnlj purchased, and trnly belonged to the said park, which, it maj be added, has been long ago disparked, and laid out in arable, pasture, or meadow land
162
THE TOWN OF ttOLT,
here reproduced, unsatisfactory as it is, shows that about the middle of the eighteenth century the Castle was not the almost complete ruin it now is. This
Hult Castle, 1905 a Photograph by Mr. M. R. Johruton)
sketch may be supplemented by a view of one side of it taken by Mr. H. R. Johnston in 1905, showing its present condition. The remains consist of the lower
IN CO0KTt DBNBIGBt 16,1
part of the wall of the inner pentagon, the court within being filled with rubbish. Heaps of earth show where two of the attached towers and the detached Exchequer Tower formerly stood. The site now belongs to Lord Kenyon.
SECTION II. -HOLT IN ITS LATER MUNICIPAL
ASPECT.
During the eighteenth century in particular, the Mayor and Corporation- used their position in the most flagrant manner to make burgesses merely for the purpose of creating batches of outside electors to vote in the election of Members of Parliament for the Denbigh Boroughs, such burgesses being drawn from various parts of North Wales, Cheshire, and elsewhere, and consisting of friends, relatives, and dependents of the Grosvenors, Myddeltons, and Watkin-Wynns. Sometimes, the Eaton, Chirk Castle, and Wynnstay estates were swept clean of men capable of posing as "free and independent electors." As these men were not resident in Holt, they could not interfere in the management of the borough, and since they had to record their votes at Holt, and their expenses were paid by the candidates, the town lost nothing and stood to gain something pecuniarily by the practice, which, of course, came to an end after the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. In a private letter, written in November, 1811, when Lord Kirkwall was canvassing the Denbigh Boroughs against Mr. Biddulph, the sitting member, the following sentence occurs : — ** The scenes of drunkenness and other debaucheries at Holt are shocking. Lord Kirkwall has paid upwards of £1000 for Feasts, and Mr. Biddulph's Bills are nearly half as much.'' Viscount Kirkwall was returned as member in 1812.
When the Municipal Corporations Act was passed in 1883, Holt was one of the small boroughs scheduled under it, and the borough as a corporation was formally
164 TftB tOWN OF HOLT,
dissolved in 1886, having become practically non- existent in 1 884, and all its property became temporarily the charge of the Charity Commissioners until these should devise a suitable scheme. Meanwhile, the Commissioners claimed everything which the dissolved corporation possessed — the Common Wood, the Church Green, the Cross Bank, Smithfield Green, the Town Hall, the maces, etc., and on April 3, 1891, issued a scheme, embodying, first of all, a Town Trust, which was to be composed of one person representing the Holt Endowed Schools, five persons elected by the vestry of the parish of Holt, all to hold office for 6ve years, and three co-opted trustees to be appointed for seven years. Regulations were laid down for the tenancy of allotments in the Common Wood, the management of that property to be afterwards handed over to the trustees just named. And although the Holt people resisted so rigorously the dealing of the Charity Commissioners with the Common Wood, it must be allowed that the allotments, so prolific a source of disagreement, are now better managed than before. And not in the matter of the Common Wood only. The Church Green was an untidy, boggy, hussocky piece of land, with a filthy pool, but has been leased by the Commissioners to trustees under condition of keeping it in repair, and has been railed in since 1895, and paths set out across it, so that it is now become an ornament rather than a disfigurement to the town.
A fuller account of Common Wood will be given in Appendix I.
The Town Hall was pulled down in 1897, but the site of it, on Cross Green, next to Kenyon Hall (erected in 1892), is railed in, and a small yearly acknowledg- ment paid to the Crown.
Cross Green is also much improved of late years — seats placed and trees planted. When I saw Holt first (about 1881), the eight-sided shaft of the old cross (the cross itself being wanting) lay prone by the side of the
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 165
six octangular steps, which formerly conatituted its base, and the steps were surmounted by a gas lamp. But in 1896 the shaft was replaced in its old position, and a new gas standard set up near it.
On November 20, 1856, the Crown sold its interest in the Pools Meadow (see note, chap. II, sec. II) containing 12a. Ir. 3p., to the late Mr. Thomas Rymer for £217 175. 9rf., and on the same day its interest in another piece of land in Holt, containing 13a. Or. 13p., to the late Mr. George William Chaloner for £480 Ss. lOd.
The Holt market has long ceased to be held. The fairs, which were kept on Cross Bank, were discontinued, I am told, about the year 1872. They declined gradually until they ceased to be held. Here is the proclamation made at the opening of each fair : —
The Proclamation at Holt Fairs.
" The Worshipfull Mayor of this Corporation strictly chargeth and commaudeth all manner of persons within this fair this day to keep the peace upon penalty that will fall thereon.
" And that all persons that carry any weapons to this fair this day do lay them up in their Inns or Lodgings except such as attend Mr. Mayor, upon pain of forfeiting their weapons, and their bodies to prison.
" And that all persons who sell or exchange any horse or horses within the fair this day do bring them to the Toll Book there to be enrolled upon pain of paying forty shillings.
** And that all others who sell any sort of wares or Comodities by weight or measure within the fair do sell the same by true and just weight and measure upon pain of forfeiting their wares, and their bodies to prison.
" And for any misdemeanor that shall be committed within this fair^ while it shall continue^ there shall be a Court held in the Town Hall to-morrow by 10 o'clock in the forenoon, in order to hear and determine the said misdemeanors, by the said mayor and a sufficient jury according to law.
'* God save the King
" And the worshipfull Mayor of this Corporation.*'
166 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
The mayor, coroner, King's bailiff, and town bailiff were elected and sworn before the deputy-steward of Bromfield and Yale at the Holt Michaelmas Court Leet, and at the spring Court Leet six constables, six over- seers of Common Wood, two appraisers, and two burley- men^ (in May, 1847) were presented to hold office for the year. The mayor appointed the deputy mayor, and seems to have nominated the recorder, whose nomination was ratified or otherwise by the general body of the burgesses.
However, whatever may have been the case in earlier times, there is, fortunately, a report of a meeting of the burgesses held on October 24, 1881, to elect mayor, bailiffs, jurors, and constables, and transact other business. Mr. John AUington Hughes, deputy of Sir Watkin Williams- Wyun, the steward of Brom- field and Yale, was present. The Queen's bailiff* called the names of the six constables, who were thereupon sworn. The roll of burgesses was then read over, those present answering to their names, and those absent being fined twopence each. After this twenty- three jurymen were sworn in, with Mr. Harrison, grocer, at their head (making twenty-four in all), and summoned to hear the charge read to them by the deputy steward. Next came the election of mayor, and afterwards the elections of coroner. Queen's bailiff, and mayors (or town) bailiff. The persons designated to these offices were proposed and seconded, and their names put to the meeting by the deputy steward. As there had been no deaths during the year, and there were no presentments to be made, the proceedings then termi- nated.
The following was the oath tendered, on the election of a burgess, in the later times of the borough : ** You
^ " Barlejmen," a corraption of " Bjriawmen." Ono of the chief duties of the barley men of Holt was to pay occasional visits to the Common Wood, and drive thenoe to the pinfold strange cattle depasturing there. The burleymen were appointed at least as late as 1869, as also were the two appraisers.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 167
do swear that you will well and truly main- tain all the lawful and ancient customs and privileges of the Corporation of Holt, alias Lyons, as far as they may come to your knowledge and privity ; you shall bear a suitable proportion with your fellow-burgesses in any charge that may accrue for the good and benefit of the Corporation, and shall undertake all such lawful offices as you shall there^ the Mayor and Corporation be elected unto, so help you God."
Three uprights of the old stone stocks which used to stand on Cross Green, Holt, may still be seen north of the Roman site along the public footway, each upright being grooved on one side.
Something should be said here concerning the com- mon pinfold of Holt. It was situated in 1620 near or in Frog Lane (see Chap. IV, under name of Owen Brereton). Later on, it stood on the east side of Castle Street, where many people still remember it, whence it was removed to Frog Lane, but not neces- sarily to the spot it occupied in 1620.
The assizes for the county of Denbigh were sometimes held at Holt.
The small mace of Holt contains the following inscriptions : — " 1606. D. Speede Maior"; on the foot: " Repayred att the charg of Tho. Spanne Maior 1668," and " Repaired at the charge of Robert Pigot 2^ time Mayor 1726" (both these on the top), and " Repair'd by O. Dod Esq." (on shaft). On the top also are engraved the Roval arms borne by James I, and his initials '' I. R^'^for " Jacobus Rex."
The great, or '* Queen's mace," made in 1709 in the time of Queen Anne, is inscribed : " Repaired by Tho" Pate, Esq., Mayor, 1749," and "Repaired by John Jones, esq., 1846-1860."
The loving-cup of Holt, ot poor design, was presented by Townshend Main waring, Esq., M.P. for the Denbigh
^ In the earlier borongh book, beginniag in 1789, for "there** ** thereby" is given. *^ By" is the preposition evidently intended.
168 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
Boroughs, to Mr. John Edwards, mayor of the borough, and to his successors in the mayoralty, on December 25, 1868.
The old loving-cup has disappeared. It contained about a quart, was of brass, and was used at the enrol- ment of burgesses.
Mr. Rymer, the recorder, showed me many years ago, as belonging to the burgesses, a pair of scales, a 4 lb. brass weight, and a 3 lb. brass weight. These cannot now be found.
The plain, but elegant, mayoral chair presented, according to the inscription thereon, by John Evans, joiner and wheelwright, in 1817, is now in the charge of William Harrison, the last mayor.
Four halberts, one black wand, and constable s staff are also still in existence.
Various painted boards, commemorating benefactions and the repair of the Town Hall in 1835 and 1868, together with other belongings of the old Hall, are now stored in a loft on the premises of Mrs. Oliver Jones.
In Appendix II will be found an annotated list of the mayors of Holt, so far as they are ascertainable.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 169
APPENDIX I. The Common Wood.
This wood, already denuded of trees, is mentioned in the charter of Thomas, Earl of Arundel (13th year Henry IV), as a place of pasture for the beasts of the burgesses
On September 10, 1802, at a court then held, it was agreed by the burgesses present, that 30 square yards of the Common Wood should be set aside so that John Da vies, miller, should erect thereon a windmill to grind for the benefit of all resident burgesses, on the terras following: — If the said John Davies fetch, dress, and bring back the meal, the toll to be 6 lb. a measure ; if he fet-ch and bring back only, the toll to be 5 lb. ; if the burgess take the com to the mill and bring back the meal, then the toll to be 4 lb. a measure, and if John Davies do not fulfil these conditions, then the said 30 square yards to return to the burgesses. The windmill does not seem to have been erected.
On June 10, 1814, it was resolved that the overseers of the Common Wood lay a fine of £10 on any person or persons found digging or carrying away soil or dung from the said pasture.
On September 27, 1816, 25 geese straying on the Common Wood, and not belonging to burgesses, were sold by the bailiffs for £1 13s. Id,, to defray expenses and for trespass so com- mitted.
Further, on May 30, 1818, it was resolved that the overseers do drive off all cattle from the unenclosed part of the Common Wood to the Pinfold, unless the owners take them away imme- diately, and that henceforth no cattle be turned on the said pasture before the 12th May then following, and that after that date each resident burgess be entitled to turn on the same unenclosed part one horse, or two cows, or three two-year-old heifers, or four yearlings, and no sheep, and that thenceforth no burgess let or dispose of any part of his rights on the said common to any person whose legal settlement is not in the borough of Holt.
It will be noted that in this last-mentioned order it is implied that a part of the common had been recently enclosed, but afore- time large portions had been enclosed legally and illegally, equitably and inequitably, the Common Wood extending so far as the southern border of Allington, and further westwards than now.
9tb ssb. vol. yul 12
170 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
Already, on August 7, 1815, it was resolved by a poll of 57 burgesses, one burgess only opposing, to apply for an Act of Parliament to enclose and allot the Common Wood, the expenses to be paid by the sale of part of the same.
In 1843 the unenclosed part of the pasture was declared to amount to 204 acres.
On January 2, 1843, nothing having been done effectually in connection with Common Wood, the burgesses unanimously resolved to petition Parliament for the enclosure of the same, and in the eighth and ninth years of Queen Victoria the Act for the enclosure was passed, and a valuer appointed under the seal of the Inclosure Commissioners, dated January 29, 1846. George William Chaloner, of Holt, was the surveyor appointed, and he presently made his award, dated November 2, 1848. The expense of enclosing the Common Wood and of compensating the Queen as Lady of Bromfield and Yale for her right and interest in the said common was met by the absolute sale to various persons of several portions of it which measured in all 24a. Or. 37p. The value of the residue of the Common Wood was estimated at £6,520, and of this sum, a 20th part (or £326) was paid to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests as com- pensation for the right and interest of the Crown in the soil of the said wood, exclusively of the right and interest of the same in all minerals, stone, etc., under it. A public road surrounding the residue of the Common Wood and nine private lanes leading thence to as many "old enclosures," as well as a public drain and water-course across the reserved portion, were directed to be set out. A piece of land, containing 2a. Ir. 6p., was then awarded to John Davies, of Caeca Dutton, farmer, and John Roberts, of Burras, farmer, th^ trustees appointed at a meeting of the resident burgesses of Holt, upon trust to apply the rent of the same to such incidental expenses connected with the Common Wood as might thereafter be necessary. The remainder was then divided into 64 allotments, and these put in trust to " allot one of such allotments to each resident burgess who shall have signified, or shall signify, to the trustees or trustee for the time being of the said allotments his desire of having the occupation or enjoyment of an allotment, and to permit each resident burgess to occupy and enjoy the allotment so allotted to him, so long as he shall be a resident burgess and desirous of continuing such occupation or enjoyment ; and every such burgess shall hold his allotment as tenant to the said trustees or trustee. And in case any difference or dispute shall arise as to the selection or choice of allotment, the same shall be determined by the trustees or trustee for the time being. ' And in case the
IN COUNTY DBNBIGP 171
said 64 allotments shall not suffice for all the said resident burgesses who shall have signified their desire of having an allotment, and the burgesses so desirous of having an allotment shall not agree among themselves which of them shall have allotments," the claims of each of these shall be settled by a majority vote of those present at a general meeting called for that purpose by the trustees ; and the several resident burgesses to whom allotments have been assigned shall pay to the trustees or tmstee such rents as shall be sufficient to enable the last named to pay each of tlie resident burgesses who have not been able to obtain an allotment " such an annual sum by way of compensation in lieu of an allotment as the trustees or trustee for the time being shall deem equivalent in value to the net annual value of an allotment." And in case there shall be a superfluity of allotments after assigning a single allotment to every resident burgess that shall claim one, the trustees shall let the superfluous allotments, and divide the rest in equal portions among the resident burgesses. The trustees or trustee are or is to render a true account of all monies received and paid at a meeting of the resident burgesses, to be called within 21 days after March 25 in each year, after seven days' notice at the least The hedges, which are to be of hawthorn quickset between the several allotments, are to be maintained and repaired by the several allottees. This award was sealed by the Indosure Commissioners on November 16, 1848.
All this seems clear, but the burgesses shortly after the passing of the Enclosure Act decided that each resident burgess of Holt might nominate a successor in his stead to occupy his allotment in the Common Wood after his decease, and to hold that allotment as burgesses of Holt were wont to do, the person so nominated to continue a resident, and in case of n^lect to name a successor, the widow of such burgess to be allowed to nominate a person as burgess to succeed the deceased in such allotment, and for that purpose it should be lawful for any burgess to propose his successor at any of the Court days of the borough, and if the person so proposed be accepted by the mayor and by a majority of the burgesses present, the nominee on the third and last day of his nomination, previous to his election, should pay 5«. to the mayor, and if such nominee should die or remove the burgess who nominated him should be free to nominate another person as successor, and in case of removal the first nominated should be struck off the Court rolls and the last nominee remain thereon, subject to the rules of the said borough.
After this widows were allowed to occupy the allotments ot
12 2
172 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
their dead husbands, while other allotments were sold outright, just as though they were the freeholds of their occupiers, the law being evaded by the occupier nominating the vendor as a burgess. After the dissolution of the borough in 1886, some holders of allotments were held by persons not resident or not burgesses. Nevertheless, these persons were, on March 25, 1886, enrolled as burgesses, although the time had expired during which new burgesses could be enrolled. The Charity Com- missioners now came on the scene, and on April 3, 1891, made a scheme whereby the representatives of the old burgesses were to hold their allotments for life, and allowed to nominate a person to whom the trustees should offer a lease of the allotment for 21 years, at a rent fixed by the trustees. Then those persons holding allotments but only elected as burgesses after March 25, 1886, whose title was therefore defective, were to be permitted to hold their allotments for life, if they resided in the borough of Holt, paying to the trustees £2 yearly in respect of each allotment^ As these persons died and the allotments fell in, the occupiers of the allotments would only be of one class. Since there are now about 185 acres of Common Wood, and it was divrided with approximate equality between 64 allottees, each allotment contains, roughly speaking, 3 acres.
In and after 1862, the six constables were also overseers of Common Wood, no distinct overseers being elected.
APPENDIX II.
Mayors of Holt.
I myself compiled many years ago, from the borough books, a list of the mayors of Holt from 1720 to 1854. But there is in existence, in the possession of Mr. Edwin Bellis, who kindly allowed me to copy it, a list very much faded, beginning in 1618, transcribed in part apparently from another list, and going down in one handwriting to about the middle of the nineteenth century. This other list must also have been here and there almost illegible, judging from the many misreadings in the existing copy. It has been found possible to furnish the name of one earlier mayor — that of Mr. David Speed in 1606. and the later names, to the dissolution of the borough in 1884, have been supplied to me by Mr. Bellis. In the official list the plainest farmer or tradesman is designated as "esquire," to which honorific suffix he became entitled by virtue of his office. In general this suffix has been omitted, as well as that of " gent," unless it is pretty certain that the mayor bore any such
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 173
title on ordinary occasions and apart from his office. I have added notes in square brackets and made many corrections. Otherwise the official copy from 1618 downwards has been used. Four of the notes have been furnished by Mr. T. Cann Hughes, town clerk of Lancaster, and his initials are appended thereto. I desire here to acknowledge his courtesy. Of course it will be understood that the mayor elected at Michaelmas in any one year served, if he lived, until the Michaelmas court of the year following.
1606 David Speed, gent, [see eh. iii].
1618 Thomas Pate of Holt, gent, [see oh. iii].
1619 Robert Bostock of Farndon, gent, [see cL iii. Robert Woods-
worth, according to another copy].
1620 George Bostock of Holt, esq. [see ch. iii].
1621 Thomas Barnston of Churton, esq. [eldest son of William
Bamston, esq., by his wife, Elizabeth Massey].
1 622 John Meredith of Allington. [He married Alice, one of the
daughters of John Roydon, esq., of Isycoed, by his wife, Maud Paleston.]
1623 Edward Wright of Stretton, gent, [buried at Tilston, Cheshire,
Ist Jan., 1660].
1624 Samuel Wilds of Wild's Green.
1625 George Hope of Dodleston, gent, [and of Hope, county Flint ;
married Elizabeth Parry, widow, daughter of William Knight of Chester, and was buried at Hope in 1653].
1626 Ralph ^gerton [gent., probably Ralph Egerton of Black Park,
Cheshire, second son of Ralph Egerton of Ridley, Cheshire, by his wife, Barbara Holford ; he died about 1629].
1627 " Richard Sharpes of Trevallyn." [For " Sharpes," we should,
it is to be suspected, read " Sharpies."]
1628 "George Spurston of Spurston" [should be ** Spurstow."
George Spurstow of Spurstow, Cheshire, was buried at Bunbury, 23 Feb., 1665].
1629 Sir Thomas Brereton [? Sir Thomas Brereton of Shocklach,
knight].
1630 [Owen] Brereton, esq., of Barras Hall [son of Owen Brereton
of the same by Sarah Eyton, his wife : will proved 14 Oct., 1648].
1631 Thomas Caldecote of Caldecote, gent, [the Thomas Caldecote
of Caldecote, who was buried at Farndon, 1st Oct., 1672, or his father of the same name, the date of whose burial, however, cannot at present be given].
1632 *< Thomas Pickering of Holt" [probably a mistake for Francis
Pickering of Holt, gent. : see ch. iii].
1633 Hugh Wilbraham of Eccleston.
174 THE TOWN O* flOLt,
1634 William Pate of Holt, gent, [see ch. iii].
1635 "Thomas Standley of Aldersey, esq/' [? Sir Thomas Stanley of
Alderley, bart., died Aug., 16721
1636 " John Yersley of Farndon." [For " Yersley," read " Yardley.""]
1637 Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton [Cheshire, bart., died 14 Sept,
1645].
1638 William Dod of Egerton Green [? Sutton Green].
1639 George Manley of Lach [near Chester : he married at Wrex-
ham, 17 Oct , 1638, Margaret Goldsmith of Wrexham].
1640 William Barnston, esq., of Churton [son of the mayor of, 1621 :
died 8th Mch., 1664].
1641 Charles Walley of Chester [mayor of Chester in 1644 and 1645,
during the siege, and at the surrender of the city]. '
1642 Thomas ffoster of Parkside, Allington, gent, [see ch. iii].
1643 ** Ambrose Edwards of Mold." [There is a slight mistake
here : probably one of the Edwardses of Rhual, near Mold, was mayor this year.]
1644 Richard Egerton of Shocklach.
1 fi4.fi I ^^ ™ayor elected : time of war.
1647 William Speed of Holt, gent.
1648 John Yardley of Holt [see under year 1636].
1649 John Sadler of Holt [Major Sadler, see before].
1650 Edward Taylor of Pickhill. [Capt. Edward Taylor of Parkey
in Pickhill, the well-known Parliamentary officer, the second son of Thomas Taylor of Dutton Diffaeth, yeoman. He married Katherine, one of the daughters of Richard Pres- land the elder, of Ridley, yeoman. Both Capt. Taylor and his wife are spoken of frequently in Philip Henry's diary.]
1651 Roger Rowland of Holt
1652 Ralph Griffiths of Famdon.
1653 Roger Williams of Aldford.
1654 "Griffith Edwards of Holt. [This name should be almost
certainly Griffith Roberts, who was the founder of the Free School at Holt, etc. He is mentioned about this time as mayor of the town.]
1655 John Lloyd of Holt.
1656 Abel Rogers of Bersham. [Probably John Rogers of Rhds
Bers.]
1657 Thomas Capper of Huntington [cum Cheveley, Cheshire].
1658 Robert Garner of Chester.
1659 Edward Edwards of Park.
1660 John Leche of Cawerden Hall, esq.
1 661 William Bennett of Chester [mayor of Chester, 1652.— T.C.H.].
1662 John Mostyn of Nant.
1663 Edward Spencer of Huntington [Cheshire].
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 175
1664 Edward Humberston of Holt, gent. [Query, whether the
Christian name of this gentleman has not been mis-copied in the official list.]
1665 William Broughton of Marchwiel, gent, [third son of Morgan
Broughton, esq., of March wiel Hall. He had been a captain in the Royal army during the Civil War].
1666 Francis Wright of Stretton, gent, [younger brother of the
mayor of 1623].
1667 Robert Whitby of Holt.
1668 Tbomas Spann of Chester. [In the official list his name is
wrongly given as " Spring.*']
1669 Thomas Poole of Chester.
1670 Ellis Bedward of Chester.
1671 Charles Bradshawof Holt, esq. [buried at Holt, 13 Oct., 1698].
1672 John Clubbe of Farndon.
1673 Thomas Baker of Chester [postmaster of Chester : sheriff of
Chester, 1676 : died 1677.— T. C. H.].
1674 John Dutton of Denbigh.
1675 John Cumberbach of Northop.
1676 John Bather of Chester.
1677 "Edward Da vies of Eglwys Eagle." [Eglwysegle, co. Den-
bigh.]
1678 Robert Olegg of Grange. [Caldey Grange, in West Kirby
parish. It seems probable that for " Robert*' we should read " Roger.'T
1679 John Stringer of Crew.
1680 Thomas Bamston of Churton [esq., eldest son of William
Bamston of Churton, esq., by his wife, Dorothy : died without offspring, and was buried at Farndon, 25 Aug., 1686].
1681 Edward JBrereton of Burras Hall, esq. [grandson of the mayor
of 1630, died 10 Jan., 172|, aged 82].
1682 Sir John Trevor of Brynkinallt [knight, afterwards Master of
the Rolls and Speaker of the House of Commons ; died 20 May, 1717].
1683 Thomas Stockton of Oaks [in Broxton, Cheshire].
1684 Robert Ellis of Rowton [Cheshire].
1685 Samuel Powell of Stansty [Lodge, and of Gofynys, Brymbo,
gent., buried at Wrexham, 10 May, 1722],
1686 Ralph Blagg of Chester [innholder, administration granted to
his estate, 1695.— T. C. H.].
1687 " John Egerton of Brotton " [Broxton].
1688 John Read of Holt.
1689 Randle Crue of Holt, gent
1690 William Humberston of Holt [of Croes locyn, gent., buried at
Holt, Feb., ] 73f ].
1691 Richard Parker of Holt.
176 THE TOWN OP HOLT,
1692 John Jones of Farndon; died in office, and Edward Jones
of ... . served the year out.
1693 Sir Thomas Grosvenor, bart, of Eaton [son of Roger
Grosvenor and great- great grandson of the mayor of 1637].
1694 Francis Bucket of Chester.
1695 Edward Wright of Stretton, gent, [son of Francis Wright of
Stretton, the mayor of 1666. He died 5 Oct., 1706.
1696 Edward Jones of Glan y pwll, gent, [in Gourton, county
Denbigh, buried in Wrexham, 10 April, 1704].
1697 Thomas Warburton of Warrington.
1698 Richard Thomas of Holt.
1699 Thomas Williams.
1700 Robert Brerewood of Chester, gent, [member of an old Chester
family. He married 30 ApL, 1677, at Holy Trinity Church, Elizabeth Ireland ; his will was proved in 1713. — T. C. H.].
1701 Thomas Taylor of Isycoed.
1702 Robert Brerewood of Chester, gent, [see under year 1700].
1703 Thomas Hughes of Ruabon [probably Thomas Hughes, gent.,
of Pen y nant, son of John ap Hugh, alicu John Hughes].
1704 Jasper Peck of Cornish, esq. [died 6 Jan., I71f].
1705 John Bridge of Chester.
1706 Thomas Bebbington of Holt.
1707 Thomas Dod of Edge, esq. [son of Rev. William Dod of
Malpas. He died 30 Dec, 1759].
1708 Thomas Stanley of . . .
1709 Robert Brerewood of Chester, gent, [see under year 1700].
1710 Edward Brereton of Burras, esq. [see under year 1681].
1711 John Maddocks of Holt, gent, [buried 19 Jan., 1717].
1712 William Pate of Allington.
1713 Thomas Shone of Holfc.
1714 Paul Dutton of Grafton, gent, [perhaps the Paul Dutton of
Holt buried there 1st March, 172|].
1715 William Powell, gent., of Broughton [Hall, in parish of
Wrexham, buried at Wrexham 2 June, 1725].
1716 John Poynton of Holt.
1717 John Roberts of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, esq. [son of Hugh
Roberts of Hafod y bwch, etc. ; died 4 Sept., 1731].
1718 Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, bart. [second son of the
mayor of 1693 ; died 12 July, 1732].
1719 Thomas Grosvenor, esq. [third son of the mayor of 1693,
afterwards Sir Thomas Grosvenor of Eaton, bart., and successor to his elder brother, Sir Richard ; died in Feb., 1733].
[From this point it is possible to correct the official list from my own list compiled from the borough books.]
1720 Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, bart. [see under year
1718].
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 177
1721 Robert Grosvenor, esq. [fourth son of the mayor of 1693 ;
afterwards Sir Robert Grosvenor of Eaton, bart., successor to his brother, Sir Thomas ; died 1 Aug., 1755].
1722 Robert Pigot of Eaton, gent, [in the official list his name
appears as " Robert Rard ''].
1723 Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, bart. [see under year 1718].
1724 John Townshend of Holt [and Hem, esq., buried at Gresford
12 June, 1749].
1725 John Myddelton of Chirk Castle, esq.
1726 Robert Pigot of Eaton» gent. [John Figot in official list ; see
under year 1722].
1727 John Townshend, esq. [see under year 1724].
1728 Robert Myddelton of Chirk Castle, esq.
1729 Thomas Grosvenor of Eaton, esq. [afterwards Sir Thomas
Grosvenor, bart. ; died February, 1733].
1730 Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, bart. [see under year 1718].
1731 Edward Morgan of Golden Grove, in the parish of Llanasa,
county Flint, esq.
1732 Sir Watkin Williams- Wynn of Wynnstay, bart. [the first Sir
W. Williams- Wynn, eldest son of Sir William Williams, the second baronet ; died 26 Sept., 1749]
1733 Robert Williams, esq., of Brynyffynnon, Wrexham, second
son of the second Sir William Williams; afterwards of Erbistock Hall, buried at Erbistock 26 May, 1763.
1734 ThomaA Puleston of Emral, esq. ; died during his mayoralty,
Thomas Partington of Chester, gent., serving the remain- der of the year.
1735 John Egerton of Broxton, Cheshire, esq.
1736 Sir Robert Grosvenor of Eaton, bart. [see under year 1721].
1737 Philip Egerton of Oulton, esq. [and of Acton Park, near
Wrexham ; died 26 Sept., 1776, and was buried at Little Bud worth, Cheshire].
1738 John Puleston of Emral, esq. [eldest son of John Puleston of
Pickhill Hall, esq. ; succeeded to Emral on the death of his kinsman, Thomas Puleston, esq. ; see under year 1734].
1739 Robert Davies of Llanerch [and of Gwysanney], esq.
1740 Edward Lloyd, esq., of Horsley Hall in parish of Gresford
[see my History of Townahipa of Old Pcvrish of Grenford^ pedigree opposite p. 118].
1741 John Puleston of Emral, esq. [see under year 1738].
1742 Cawley Humberston Cawley of Gwersyllt, esq. [see my
History of Gresford, as above, p. 68].
1743 John Rowe of Holt [John Jones in official list].
1744 John Mostjm of Segrwyd [John Bridge of Isycoed in official
listl
1745 James Morgan of Stansty [Lodge, gent. \ buried at Wrexham
4 July, 1760].
178 THE *rOWN OF HOLT,
1746 Roger Dutton of Grafton Hall, gent. [Roger Dutton, senr.,
buried at Holt 21 Mch., 1757].
1747 John Powell of Holt, gent, [son of Joshua Powell, and great-
great-grandson of John Powell of Holt, the Parliamentary soldier ; buried at Holt 26 July, 1763, aged 48 ; see Powell pedigree in chap. iii].
1748 Thomas Pate of Oroes Howel, in parish of Gresford [yeoman ;
buried at Farndon 19 May, 1772, aged 68].
1749 The same, the steward of Bromfield and Yale, Sir Watkin
Williams- Wynn having died.
1750 Sir Lynch Salusbury Gotten of Combermere Abbey, bart.
[died 14 Aug., 1775, aged 69].
1751 William Travers of Trefalyn House, Allington, esq. [see my
History of Gresford Townships^ pp. 113 and 114],
1752 William Travers, esq., re-elected.
1753 Robert Wynne of Garthewin, co. Denbigh^ esq.
1754 Rosindale Lloyd of Aston, co. Salop, esq.
1755 William Pate of Holt, gent, [buried at Holt 18 Oct., 1763].
1756 Sir Lynch Salusbury Cotton, bart. [see under year 1750].
1757 John Appleton of Holt.
1758 John Williams of Holt.
1759 Jonathan Parsonage of Ridley Wood.
1760 Robert Salusbury Cotton, esq. [eldest son of Sir Lynch S.
Cotton, the mayor of 1750 and 1756, and afterwards Sir Robt. Salusbury Cotton of Combermere Abbey, bart. ; died 1809].
1761 John Edg worth of Holt, gent, [and afterwards of Bryn y gr6g,
Marchwiel, son of Thomas Edgworth ; he appears at this time to have been living at Plas Grono in Esclusham ; he died 25 Nov., 1798, aged 86, and was buried at Marchwiel].
1762 John Dymock of Little Acton, gent, [son of John Dy mock and
grandson of another John Dymock of the same place ; buried 19 June, 1767, at Wrexham].
1763 Charles Gartside of Holt, gent, [and of Wrexham, apothecary ;
buried at Holt 2 May, 1806J.
1764 John Jones of Holt [perhaps the John Jones of Ridley Wood
who died 27 Jan., 1795, aged 87].
1765 John Twigge of Burras Hall, esq. [high sheriff of Denbighshire
in 1785, son of Nicholas Twigge of Holme, Derbyshire; bought the Burras estate from the heiress of the Breretons in Feb., 1769, and sold it in 1789 to Lloyd, Lord Kenyon],
1766 Samuel Crew of Holt, gent. [Robert Crew in the official list;
" Samuel Crew of Cornish, gent.'' ; buried at Holt 11 May, 17701
1767 Peter Edwards of Lower Stansty, esq. [John Edwards in the
official list].
1768 John Speed of Holt, gent, [buried at Holt 14 Aug., 1799].
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 179
1769 Charles Wrench of Chester.
1 770 William Jones of Horsley Hall, esq. [and of Wrexham Fechan ;
see my History of Gresford Townships, pedigree opposite p. 118].
1771 Rev. Philip Puleston [D.D., of Pickhill Hall, rector of Wor-
thenburj, etc., younger brother of John Puleston of Emral ; died 27 Jan., 1801, aged 70 [in the official list described as Philip Puleston, Fsq,]
1772 John Massie of Coddington, Cheshire, Esq. Died during his
mayoralty, John Appleton of Holt, the deputy mayor, serving out the year.
1773 Robert Foulkes, esq, [of Gwerneigron, county Flint, it would
seem, high sheriff of Denbighshire in 1777].
1774 Christopher Dod of Holt [died 26 Jan., 1784].
1775 Joseph Hudson of Holt
1776 Daniel Morris of Holt.
1777 John Wright of Holt.
1778 John Palin of Holt [schoolmaster, buried 10 Dec., 1810, at
Holtl
1779 Thomas Richardson of Holt [Thomas Richards in official list].
1780 John trice of Holt.
1781 Edward Sorton of Holt.
1782 John Gough of Holt.
1783 Thomas Pate of Holt, gent, [died 22 Dec, 1816, aged 79].
1784 Paul Dutton of Grafton, Cheshire.
1785 Thomas Bithel of Holt.
1786 Thomas Maddock of Holt.
1787 Arthur Wilcoxon [of Cornish, farmer].
1788 John Edwards of Isycoed.
1789 Richard Myddelton, junior, of Chirk Castle, esq. [in official
list John Myddelton, esq].
1790 John Hughes of Horsley Hall, esq. [see my History of Grssford
Totvnships, pp. 122 and 123].
1791 John Leche of Stretton, esq. [younger brother of William
Leche of Cawerden Hall, esq. ; died in 1814].
1792 Charles Price of Holt [James Price in the official list].
1793 Rev. David Price, L.L.B., vicar of Chirk [David Price, esq.,
in official list].
1794 Ambrose Dutton of Crew, gent, [died 14 June, 1813, aged 69,
and was buried at Farndon].
1795 Thomas Lovett of Chirk, surveyor.
1796 John Wynne of Gerwyn Fawr, in parish of Bangor is y coed,
esq. [sheriff of Denbighshire in 1795 ; died 26 Mch., 1798, aged 621.
1797 Daniel Morris of Holt.
1798 John Rowland of Holt.
1799 David Da vies of Holt, excise officer [Edward Da vies in official
list].
180 THB TOWN OF HOLT,
1800 Samuel Jones of Holt [Edward Jones in official list ; probably
Samuel Jones (son of John Jones) of Ridley Wood ; died 18 Feb., 1839, aged 871.
1801 Hon. Frederick West of Kuthin Castle [third son of John,
Earl Delawarr ; married Maria, one of the daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Myddelton, the elder, of Chirk Castle, esq. ; M.P. for Denbigh Boroughs in 1802].
1802 Robert Myddelton Biddulph of Chirk Castle, esq. [married
Charlotte, another of the daughters and heiresses of Richard Myddelton of Chirk Castle, esq.].
1803 Thomas Morris of Holt.
1804 Edward Jones of Common Wood, Holt.
1805 Charles Hamilton of Chester, esq. [and of Croes locjm, see my
History of the Country Townships of the Old Parish of WrexhcMn, p. 164].
1806 William Davenport of Chester, esq.
1807 Owen Dod of Holt, gent, [buried 10 Jan., 1838, aged 76].
1808 Kenrick Edward Eyton, esq., of Eyton Hall [parish of Bangor
is y coed : died 29 June, 1825, buried at Bangor].
1809 Edmund Jones of Eyton.
1810 Thomas Skye of Plas yn y pentre, esq., co. Denbigh [served
through his deputy. Rev. C. A. Wighton].
1811 Samuel Jones of Ridley Wood, gent, [see under year 1800].
1812 Daniel Morris of Common Wood, Holt
1813 P«ter Hodgskin of Holt.
1814 Edward Da vies of Holt Lodge [ = Croes locyn, buried at
Wrexham, 6 Nov., 1820, aged 55].
1815 Richard Parry of Common Wood, Holt [died 5 July, 1855,
aged 57].
1816 Jonathan Parsonage of Llan y pwll [died 4 Nov., 1838,
aged 62].
1817 John Parry of Holt.
1818 John Rowland of Holt.
1819 Thomas Pate of Holt, gent, [died 6th Nov., 1823, aged 52].
1820 George Rowland of Holt.
1821 George Kenyon of Cefn, Abenbury, esq. [second son of Roger
Kenyon of Cefn, esq. : buried at Wrexham, 25 Nov., 18291.
1822 Frederick Richard West of Blythe Hall, Staffordshire, esq.
rM.P. for Denbigh Boroughs in 1848 : son of Hon. Frederick West (see under year 1801), and father of Col. Comwallis West of Ruthin Castle].
1823 Edward Lloyd Lloyd of Pen y Ian, esq., in parish of Ruabon
[eldest son of above-named Roger Kenyon of Cefn : after- wards known as Edward Lloyd Williams of Pen y lanl
1824 Thomas Hayes of Gate wen, in parish of Wrexham, esq. [died
in 1830}
m COUNTY DENBIGH 181
1825 George Lloyd Kenyon, esq., of Gefn, afterwards of Overton
Lodge, esq. [a younger son of above-named Roger Renyon of Cefn : buried at Wrexham, 28 Mch., 1832, aged 27].
1826 William Smith of Greenfield Lodge, Shropshire, gent.
1827 Greorge Kenyon, esq. [see under year 1821].
1828 George Lloyd Kenyon, esq. [see under year 1825 J.
1829 Thomas Hayes, ef>q. [see under year 1824].
1830 Thomas Parry of Holt Lodge [died 18 Nov., 1840, aged 59].
1831 Thomas Bennion of Burras, farmer.
1832 Jonathan Parsonage of Llan y pwll [see under year 1816].
1833 Robert Parry of Common Wood, Holt [buried at Holt,
14 Feb., 1881, aged 67J.
1834 Thomas Roberts of Plas TJcha, in parish of Ruabon.
1835 Owen Dod of Holt [see under year 1807].
1836 Thomas Bo wen of Holt.
1837 Job Harrison of Holt [son of John Harrison].
C These names supplied from
1838 John Roberts of Ruabon the official list, there being
1839 John Roberts of Burras Head - no entries in the borough
1840 Do. books for the years 1838-
l 1840.
1841 Edward Da vies of Llan y pwll [son of Jonathan Davies].
1842 Richard Parry, Common Wood, Holt [died 5 July, 1855,
aged 57].
1843 Thomas Davies, Old Sontley [died 10 July, 1848, and was
buried at Marchwiel].
1844 John Davies, Caeca Dutton, farmer.
1845 Do.
1846-1853 John Jones of Ridley Wood, gent, [son of Samuel Jones
of the same, see under year 1800 : died 14 May, 1869,
aged 70]. 1854 George William Chaloner [of Holt Hall : died 20 July, 1895,
aged 87]. 1855-1866 John Jones, Ridley Wood [see under years 1846-1855]. 1867-1870 John Edwards of Holt [schoolmaster: died 7 Aug.,
1871, aged 71 : one of the Edwardses of Isycoed]. 1871-1873 Thomas Morris, Esphill, Holt. 1874-1878 Samuel Dale of Deeside, Holt [died 13 July, 1896,
aged 711.
1879 William Baker, Fair View, Holt.
1880 Do.
1881 Thomas Capper of Holt [died 10 Oct , 1892, aged 68].
1882 James Parry of Holt
1883 Do.
1884 William Harrison of Castle Street, Holt, grocer [the last
mayor].
182 THE TOWN OF HOLT, IN COUNTY DENBIGH
Inasmuch as many of the mayors of Holt were country gentlemen^ living far away fron). the borough^ most of these appointed resident deputies to act for them. When working through the borough books, I made notes of the names of some of the deputy mayors, which are here thrown into a list, however incomplete.
1722 Thomas Wright of Holt.
1724 Ferdinando Pate of Holt, gent, [buried 6 Sept., 1727, at Holt].
1725-8 Thomas Wright of Holt.
1729-31 Richard Kyffyn of Holt [skinner]. '
1733 Samuel Crew of Holt, gent, [eldest son and heir of Thos. Crew
of Holt, who was living in 1740]. 1735 Henry Pace of Holt [schoolmaster, died 28 Mch., 1757]. 1744, 1745 Do.
1746 Richard Kyffyn [buried at Holt, 11 Apl., 1755]. 1760 John Powell, gent, [the mayor of 1747]. 1751, 1752 Thomas Pate, gent. 1753-1761 John Powell. 1763 John Appleton of Holt. 1765 Do.
1767 Do.
1769-1773 Do.
1789 John Edwards of Isycoed [the mayor of 1788].
1790 Daniel Morris [the mayor of 1776]. 1796 John Palin [the mayor of 1778].
1801 John Edwards.
1802 Rev. Chas. AUanson Wighton, vicar of Holt.
1805 Edward Davies.
1806 Rev. Charles Allanson Wighton, vicar of Holt. 1808, 1809 Owen Dod [the mayor of 1807].
1810 Rev. C. A. Wighton. 1821-1829 Thomas Parry.
183
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLTGWY
By E. NEIL BAYNES, F.S.A.
Lligwy, the property of Lord Boston, is situated not far from the sea on the north-east coast of Anglesey. It stands on the south-e€ist side of an open valley, which is about 3 miles in length, and runs in a northerly direction. At the bottom of the valley is a small stream, known as the Lligwy river, which empties itself into a large sandy bay.
About half a mile from the sea, on the edge of a limestone cliff about 20 ft. high, overlooking both the valley and Lligwy Bay, are the remains of seven ancient buildings. They are surrounded by a stone wall and described on the Ordnance Map as " Din Lligwy."
Two of the foundations are circular, the other five being practically rectangular and of the type commonly known in Wales as " Cyttiau Gwyddelod," or huts of the Gwyddel or Goidels.
The ground slopes gently up to the southern side of the enclosure, and on the west is on a level with the wall. The north-west corner of the wall is set a few feet from the edge of the rock, and from the north-east end the ground slopes away rapidly. On the east side the steep slope gradually becomes more gentle towards the south.
There are at least six other groups of cyttiau or hut foundations in the Lligwy Valley besides the one already referred to. One is situated on Bodafon Mountain, on the opposite side of the valley and about a mile and a half distant ; four or more are to be found on Parciau Estate, opposite Plas Bodafon, on the edge of the limestone rock forming the south-east edge of the valley, and the last group is about a quarter of s^
184 TBB EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY
mile south-west of Din Lligwy, and is also on the edge of LHgwy Rock.
All these hut foundations differ from those at Din Lligwy in that they consist chiefly of low banks or walls of rough construction ; also those on the Parciau Estate are enclosed by curving walls, and not angular ones as at Din Lligwy.
In addition to the above, I ought to mention the fortified Romano- British village close to Parciau House, which was partly explored in 1867.
Before giving an account of the excavations which have been made at Din Lligwy, I should like to touch upon its ancient history so far as I have been able to discover it.
The earliest reference is apparently to be found in Camden's Britannia of 1695 (Second edition, Gibson's translation), where on page 675, under the heading of "Additions to Anglesey," the editor, when referring to the Hihemicorum CasulcB, mentioned by Camden, writes : — '* Those I meant are to be seen in a wood near Lhygwy, the seat of the Worshipful Pierce Lloyd, Esq. ; and are commonly called * Killieu'r Gwydelod,' i.e., Irish Cotts ; whence I infer they must be the same which Mr. Camden calls Hihemicorum Casulcs"
Rowlands, in Mona Antiqua, 1723, makes no mention of the spot, but Miss Angharad Llwyd, in her History of Mona, 1833, states that the most remarkable " Cy ttiau Gwyddelod . . . are in a wood near Llygwy, once the property of the Lloyds . . ." In another place, however, under the heading of " Penrhoslligwy," she writes : "In the woods are some Druidical Circles."
In 1802 the Rev. John Skinner visited the place, and in his MS., Tour through Anglesey, gives the following description of the spot : — " We found the Cyttiau Gwyddelod of a more perfect form and larger dimensions than any we had yet seen. They appeared to be surrounded by a breastwork of massive stones stuck edgeways in the ground, evidently intended as a fortification^ which was probably strengthened by n,
f
/
/;
'v..
tAE eIcaVations a* din lligwt 185
mouDd and sharp stakes. The habitations are very contiguous^ the entrances are easily traced as also a communication from one to the other/' A ground- plan annexed shows twenty hut foundations, but this number and some of his statements are' evidently exaggerated.
In 1867 the Rev. Wynn Williams, of Menaifron, paid a visit to the site, and in the same year published an article, together with a ground plan and some sketches, in the ArchcBologia Cambrensis. This ground plan is not quite accurate, but at that time the ground was covered with trees and undergrowth, and therefore the opportunities for examination were not very favourable. Mr. Williams dug a few trial holes both within and without the chambers, but his only finds were " one piece of blackish pottery of rude description and hand made, which, together with a few fragments of bone and numerous seashore pebbles, was found within the larger circle," No. 2.
The stones of which the various walls are composed are limestone slabs, evidently found or split off on the spot, and they are all what are known as dry walls, no mortar or cement having been used. The slabs are set in a double row about 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart, the inter- vening space being filled in with rubble. Some of the stones are of considerable size, one of the largest being 11 ft. 9 ins. long, 13 ins. thick, and about 4 ft. wide.
Assuming that the walls were originally about 5 ft. or 6 ft. high, a large number of stones have evidently been removed for building and other purposes.
Nearly the whole of the south-east wall has dis- appeared ; also the right door-post of chamber No. 2, and the left door-posts of chambers 3 and 6. It is known that stones from chamber No. 4 were taken away some years ago to carry out repairs to Lligwy House. It is unnecessary to add that this was dfone without the knowledge of Lord Boston.
The enclosure covers a site of rather over half an acre. It is surrounded by five straight walls measuring
6th bxb., vol. vin. 13
186 THE BXOAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY
171 ft. 6 ins. on the north, 113 ft. on the west, 142 ft. 3 ins. on the south, 83 ft. 6 ins. on the south-eaBt, and 109 ft. 6 ins. on the north-east.
On the north, outside, are the remains of a curved wall, to which I wiU refer later.
The entrance appears to have been through chamber No. 6, on the north-east side. When a path was made across the enclosure, about ten years ago, in order to effect an entrance and exit, large stones were removed from the foundations of the wall, which before was continuous.
The walls on the north, west, and south, and part of the east sides can easily be traced; but, as I have already stated, most of the stones comprising the south- east wall have been removed.
In order to discover the line of this south-east wall a trench was dug at a spot where the south and south- east walls would meet if continued in that direction. The comer of the wall was found here, and could be located by the rubble which had fallen down when the large upright stones had been removed. Fragments of pottery were found in this trench. Judging from the position of three stones of the south-east wall, which remained standing, it was possible to determine where the south-east corner had been.
On examining the face of the rock below the north- west corner of the enclosure, shells of the limpet, mussel, periwinkle, and cockle were found in a clayey deposit between the rocks. A further search revealed more sea-shells, splinters of bone and teeth of " bos" and sheep, below the rock, at two points 130 ft. and 160 ft. from this comer.
Chamber No. 1.
Excavations were begun, with Lord Boston's consent, in May, 1905, in Chamber No. 1, and continued at intervals down to this year. I may mention here that possibly this portion of the enclosure ought not to be
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIK LLlOWY 18?
called a chamber proper, as its east wall is only about 18 ins. thick, and in construction seems to diner from that of the other walls, which are from 4 ft. 6 ins. to 5 ft. 6 ins. in thickness. It is not unlikely that most of its stones have been removed. Its angles are all ungual.
The inside measurement on the west side is about 25 ft., and the outside measurement on the east side
Finds ; Din LUgwy, 1 Three Spindle-whorU, Bone Head and Bone Implemeats Flint Flakes and Semper*
Thin Bronze, Palette, Silver Nugget and Lead Nugget The Dumben refer to number of chamber in which the object nsa fouDd.
27 ft. The distance from the inside of the west wall to the outside line of the east wall is about 27 ft. 6 ins. OQ the north side and 19 ft. on the south side.
The floor level was undefined, and the rock slopes upwards from the south-east to north-west. Few stones of any size were found In the soil which filled the eastern half. The western side is solid rock. The entrance could not be discovered.
188 THE EXCAVATIONS AT DiN LUOWY
The finds included : —
94 fragments of black pottery, usually known as Romano- British.
3 fragments of thin red Roman pottery.
1 chip of red Gaulish ware (pseudo-Samian).
1 fragment of a red tile.
2 fragments of coarse pottery, apparently glazed.
An iron horse-shoe (probably seventeenth century).
Iron nails.
2 lumps of iron and a fragment shaped like the tang of an implement.
A few limpet and periwinkle shells.
Teeth and bones of red-deer.
A flint flake.
A small piece of hematite.
A small piece of metallic slag.
Teeth and bones of domestic animals.
Signs of fire were observed on the east side near the central upright stone, and thin fragments of slate were scattered here and there.
Chamber No. 1a.
This chamber has not been explored. The rock is only just below the surface, and it is unlikely that any object of interest will be discovered there.
The entrance, in the centre of the east side, is 5 ft. 6 ins. wide and well defined.
Chamber No. 2.
During August and September, 1905, Chamber No. 2, in the north-west corner of the enclosure, was laid open. It is almost circular, the inside diameter being about 21 ft. and the outside diameter 32 ft. or 33 ft., the wall varying from 5 ft. to 6 ft. in thickness. The entrance faces almost due east and is 6 ft. 6 ins. wide. It has a doorstep 2 ft. 6 ins. in width.
Opposite the entrance and a little more to the south
Chamber Ko. 2, from the South- West
190
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWT
IB a shelf or niche, 16 ins. deep in the centre, formed in the thickness of the wall.
The soil was dug out to the solid rock, and was found to be from I ft to 4 ft. deep ; it contained pebbles, broken stones, large stones which had been displaced from the surrounding wall and rubble, in addition to the articles mentioned hereafter.
Owing to the condition of the soil, spade, pick and
■^
Chamber tlo. 2, Int«dor showing Niche
crowbar had to be used, and in consequence some of the pottery fragments were further broken. The stones which had fallen from the wall were, when possible, replaced ; but a great many, the original positions of which could not he located, remained over. When stones were replaced the vacant spaces behind were Glled in with rubble. The second existing upright stone to the right of the entrance was found buried in the ground, and was afterwards replaced in position. The first original stone on this side cannot be found.
THE EXOAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWT 191
Iq some places the bed-rock must have showed abore the level of the original floor, which evidently sloped downwards towards the entrance. It was probably formed of beaten earth, and therefore could not be clearly defined. The greatest depth of soil would have been not more than about 2 ft. in any one place.
As a rule, the fragments of coarse red pottery, Roman grey-brown slip ware, and red Gaulish pottery were found deep down in the cavities or " pockets" of the rock ; but, owing to the fact that the soil had to be broken down and the large stones removed before it was possible to employ the ^in. sieve, it is impossible to state with accuracy exactly at what level the various fragments were found.
The finds included : —
32 fragments of a reddish-brown bowl, about 8 ins. in diameter,
of rough manufacture. 20 fragments of black Romano-British pottery. One fragment
has part of a handle or loop.
7 fragments of thin red Soman potteiy. 2 fragments of red Gaulish ware.
♦Part of a saucer-shaped vessel, about 5J ins. in diameter and If in. deep, of fine ware, and greyish-black outside. (This saucer will be referred to again later.)
♦5 fragments of a vase, about 6 ins. in diameter, of a greyish- brown colour, decorated with two vertical trellis patterns in white slip, on circular grounds enclosed by three con- centric rings.
8 fragments of a dark grey vase, about 3f ins. in diameter,
of the thumb-pot pattern. 2 fragments of red tile. ♦A small silver ingot, about 1.29 in. long, .4 in. broad, and
.27 in. thick, weighing 197-8 grains. A small portion of a Iloman jug of green glass, with the base
of the handle attached. A ball of iron If in. in diameter. ♦An iron eye with point clenched. ♦An iron ring, penannular, and about 1 in. in outside diameter.
* Objects marked with an asterisk will be found among the illaBtrations.
\
192
THE KXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY
Limpet, periwinkle, and oyster shells, a portion of a whelk shell, and broken pieces of " tapes pullaBtra."
3 points of stag's horn. * A flint implement in the shape of an arrow-head.
9
*s
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V-
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a M
S
1 if .
a 8
a s
Q
« a a ^
fo O
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— 5z5
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*A piece of bone, sharpened to a triangular points
*A piece of bone, about 1 in. long and a third of an inch broad, marked with a notch at one end and V-tapered at the other end. (A similar piece of bone was found at Tarciau Village in 1867.)
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY 193
A small hearth-stone, showing marks of fire, was found just inside the entrance on the left.
Two or three pieces of metallic slag.
Several fragments of bone, and teeth of "bos longifrons," horse, sheep or goat, pig and cat. A goose bone (diseased), also bones of domestic animals.
A little charcoal, some pebbles and thin pieces of slate.
Chambbr No. 3.
In April, 1906, the smaller circular chamber. No. 3, was excavated. The measurements proved to be 21 ft. 6 ins. to 22 ft. inside, and about 32 ft. outside, being therefore about 1 ft. less in diameter than chamber No. 2. The walls are from 5 ft. to 5 ft. 6 ins. thick, except at one point on the west side of the wall, where it is nearly 7 ft. in thickness, the circular line of the interior being broken by a chord about 12 ft. in length. The reason for this thickening is apparently to give additional strength to the wall, which rests here on the sloping rock.
The entrance could not be defined with absolute certainty, but on the east i^ide a portion of the wall, about 6 ft. in length, appears to have been roughly rebuilt, and one door-post had fallen outwards to the ground. On raising this stone it was found that the top had been trimmed, doubtless in recent years.
On each side of this rough walling were evident signs of fire. On the north side was a small hearth- stone.
The soil was dug out where possible to a depth of about 2 ft. It contained a few pebbles, rubble, and some stones which had fallen from the wall. These stones were not of any great size compared to those found in No. 2 chamber, and the construction of the wall showed a more primitive and less careful method of building.
At the west side the rock was found a few inches below the surface, and at the east side^ where the soil
194 THE EXOAYATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY
was apparently from 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 ins. in depth, excavation was suspended when about 2 ft. from the surface, as, with the exception of some bones and a few shells, objects of interest ceased to be found below that depth, and the earth had apparently not been much disturbed.
In one or two places a thin layer of darker coloured earth, about 12 ins. below the surface of the ground before excavation, seemed to mark a floor level.
Below the level of the floor, in a hollow of the rock and close to the hearth-stone on the north side, were a quantity of periwinkle shells, and another lot of similar shells were found near the hearth to the left of the supposed entrance. About a dozen oyster shells were also found not far from this point. The coin, spindle- whorl, Gaulish and Romano-British pottery, mentioned in the following list, were discovered at about the supposed floor level, and the largest fragments of pottery near the wall.
The articles found were : —
16 fragments of coarse pottery, grey to brownish in colour. 185 fragments of black Eomano-British pottery. 8 fragments of thin red Roman pottery.
3 fragments of fine grey pottery. 6 fragments of red Gaulish ware.
*A portion of the base of a yellow open bowl of Boman ware. 5 fragments of red tile.
4 fragments of a yellow mortarium.
A copper coin (centenionalis) of Constantine the Great.
*A gritstone spindle-whorl about 1^ in. in diameter, with central hole unfinished.
An iron eye, a nail, some iron points, and a few rough pieces of iron.
Shells of the limpet, periwinkle, oyster, " tapes puUastra," and one valve of a scallop.
A portion, about 6 ins. long, of the base of a stag's horn.
THB EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWT
sil
ill
t%
a d3«
g jjQ -
ill 111
■s£i
L piece of bone, tapered, apparently an iDStrument, and a
quantity of bone splinters. L flint flake and two pieces of flint.
196 THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY
A flat sea-worn stone, used for pounding, and a flat stone palette.
A small hearth-stone and three or four round stones.
Teeth and bones of deer, " bos longifrons/' horse, sheep or goat, and pig, also a bone of dog ; one piece of bird bone and one joint of fish vertebra.
2 fragments of a gritstone mortar.
Charcoal, a little metallic slag, and some pieces of slate.
Chamber No. 4.
During August and September, 1906, the chamber No. 4, formed in the north-east corner of the enclosure, was excavated, the inside measurement being 44 ft. by 16 ft., and the four walls about 5 ft. 6 ins. thick.
The entrance is on the south side, and is 9 ft. in width.
On the west side stands a pointed door-post, 7 ft. 3 ins. in height from the floor level, and about 3 ft. wide at its base and 20 ins. thick.
The south-west external angle of the wall is rounded.
The depth of soil varied from about 12 ins. at the north-west corner, and 2 ft. 6 ins. at the north-east and south-west corners, to 3 ft. at the south-east corner.
The soil was full of large stones and rubble which had fallen from the walls. It is estimated that half of the contents was composed of stones and the other half of earth.
The floor, differing from the chambers already exca- vated, IS well defined, and appears to be composed of small stones and beaten earth. It is fairly flat in the eastern half of the chamber, but the rock crops up in many places in the western half.
No trace of steps or of a slope leading down into the chamber could be found. Stones had been roughly laid across the entrance from the inside up to the ground outside, which is about 4 ft. above the level of the floor of the chamber. Under some of these
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIQWY
197
stones were found bones and masses of crushed mussel sheUs.
The loose stones from the walls were replaced where possible, but some thirty or forty stones remained over.
On the south side, outside the wall, a trench was dug, from 18 ins. to 2 ft. 6 ins. in depth, and about 3 ft. wide. In this trench and in the entrance most of the more important finds were made.
Chamber No. 4, Interiar shawiiig Soiith-East Corner and Entrance
The special feature of this chamber was the amount of metallic slag and the number of smelting hearths, containing ashes, slag, and charcoal, found both within and without the chamber. A section of the charcoal shows nearly all the features of oak, which was probably the kind of fuel used.
Professor Gowland, F.S.A., of the Royal College of Science, South Kensington, kindly examined some of
196
THE BX0AVATIO58 AT DIM LUflWT
the specimens of sla^;;. He writes : — " I have examined three characteristic specimens of the slaga from Aoglesey and find they contain the following percentages of iron : —
A. — Iron ... 3L.96 per cent.
B.— „ 31.58 „
C— 40.50
" Thej are practically identical with the slags obtained
Chamber No. i, from the South
in the old Catalan and Bloomery processes, and are the result of smelting iron ore for the production of malleable iron. They are ancient slags and may be Roman."
■The finds included : —
1 fragment of coarse grey-brown pottery.
108 fragtaenta of black Romano -British pottery,
12 fragments of tbio red Boman pottery.
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY 199
13 fragments of red Gaulish pottery (four pieces with a pattern in relief).
6 fragments of fine dark-grey Eoman ware. (Apparently four of these are further portions of the slip- ware and thumb- pot vases mentioned in connection with No. 2 chamber. The two remaining fragments belong to a third vase^ with an applied speckled design.)
I fragment of polished black ware (Continental manufacture).
12 fragments of red mortaria.
1 fragment of a yeUow mortarium. 16 fragments of red tile.
*A piece of thin sheet bronze.
A piece of crystal.
A copper coin (centenionalis) of Crispus.
A copper coin (centenionalis) of Constans.
A piece of Boman glass.
A round disc, about IJ in. in diameter, made from a piece of red tile.
70 fragments of iron nails.
40 fragments of iron, including part of a " dog '* or clench.
2 portions of a flat quern-stone, about 20 ins. in diameter, with
hole in the centre.
Fragments of limpet, periwinkle, oyster, mussel, cockle, and whelk shells.
2 pieces of stag's horn.
A piece of bone cut into notches at one end, and eight pointed pieces of bone.
6 chips of flint
2 pieces of hematite.
5 or more smelting hearths.
Metallic slag, nearly two bushels.
138 teeth of " bos."
22 teeth of horse.
91 teeth of sheep or goat
40 teeth of pig.
Bones of the above.
Bones of red-deer.
Bone of grouse or black-cock.
THE BXGAVATtONS AT DIH LLIOWr
Chaubeh No. 5.
This chamber was explored in April last.
The inside measurement is about 33 ft. 3 ins. in length and 11 ft. in width, the walls varying from 5 ft. in thickness on the west of the entrance to 4 ft. 8 ins. at each end. The wall of the enclosure forms the south side of this chamber, and does not appear to be wider
Cluiiiber No. 5, Bhowing North- We»t Coraer and Eotnuica
here than it is outside the chamber, differing in this respect from Chamber No. 4, where the north and east walla of the enclosure are thicker where they form the walla of the chamber.
The north-east and north-west corners are rounded on the outside.
The entrance, about 6 ft. 1 in. in width, is almost in the centre of the north wall ; the right-hand door- post, 4 ft 11 ins. in height above the floor level, is
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY 201
standinsr, but the left-hand one has disappeared. There is a dooi^tep or riser 4 fl. 1 in. long, 17 ins. deep, and about 8 ins. thick ; the west end butts against a stone 4 ft. long, 12 ins. wide, and 17 ins. deep, set at right angles to the door-step and the wall of the chamber. The corresponding stone on the other side has evidently been removed.
The depth of soil was about 2 ft. 3 ins., and the earthen floor is fairly level, although the bed-rock crops up in two places. The soil here, as in the other chambers, was full of stones and rubble which had &llen from the walls.
In this chamber two smelting hearths containing charcoal and metallic slag were found, also a flat hearth-stone.
The following is a list of the pottery and coins which were found :—
2 fragments of the rim of an open cooking-bowl, about 8 ins.
in diameter, of reddish pottery.
198 fragments of black Bomano-British pottery. 14 fragments of fine grey pottery.
3 fragments of thin red Soman pottery.
30 fragments of red Gaulish ware (two fragments with a design in relief).
10 fragments of a grey-brown bowl, with raised design of lions, German manufacture, and No. 37 of Dragendorf 's scheme.
2 small fragments of fine black European ware.
*2 fragments of a grey-brown saucer. One of these fragments joined on to another piece of the same saucer found earlier in No. 2 chamber.
1 fragment of a red mortarium.
5 fragments of red tUe.
*A small ingot of lead.
A copper denarius of Tetricus.
A copper centenionalis of Constantino the Great.
A copper centenionalis of Gonstantius II.
6th beb., vol. vm. 14
202 THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY
2 fragments of a green glass Soman bottle.
1 fragment of brownish glass^ showing a nipple pattern.
*2 spindle-whorls : one of fine grit-stone and the other of red Gaulish ware.
*A bead made of bone or stag's horn.
14 iron nails.
*The tang and part of the blade of a knife, with a bronze washer.
*An iron instrument, supposed to be a flesh-hook, used in cooking,|an iron strike-a-light, and several fragments of iron.
2 stone palettes^ one* being faceted on one side. 9 pieces of red-deer horn.
*An implement of red-deer horn.
The horn of a full-grown roebuck, with part of the skull attached^ and also the horn of a young buck.
A piece of stone, one side of which has been vitrified.
*A flint implement in the shape of an arrow-head, and a small flint scraper.
4 flakes and 11 pieces of flint.
A seventeenth-century clay pipe, with the initials " R P." under the bowl.
Pointed pieces of bone, possibly instruments.
2 smelting hearths, with charcoal and slag, and a separate hearth-stone.
2 teeth of red-deer.
85 teeth of " bos."
39 teeth of sheep or goat.
1 9 teeth of horse.
17 pig teeth.
Bones of the above.
Pebbles, slate, and shells of mussel, oyster, cockle, periwinkle and " tapes puUastra."
A fragment of a gritstone mortar.
The clay pipe is of interest, as the date assigned to it by Mr. Hilton Price, F.S.A., viz., 1660 circa, is the exact date of old Lligwy House^ and it not
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DlN LLlGWY 203
unreasonably raises a suspicion that the pipe was for- gotten by some labourer when removing the stones from this enclosure in order to utilise them again in building the residence of the Lloyds.
Chamber No. 6.
This chamber, excavated in August last, is built against or into the east wall of the enclosure. The inside measurement is about 29 ft. in length by II ft. 6 ins. in width, the walls being about 5 ft. in thickness. The wall of the enclosure forms the east side of this chamber, and, as in No. 4, is about 6 ins. wider at this point. The stones forming the outer faces of the south and west walls have at some time been removed.
The north-west and south-west corners are rounded on the outside.
Entrance to the enclosure was apparently through this chamber, but neither the width nor actual position can now be defined with certainty, as the walls at these points have been broken away. There are spaces in the east and west walls, that in the east wall being about 11 ft. wide, and it would appear that one side of the entrance was 5 ft. 8 ins. from tne north-east corner. A layer of solid rock crosses the chamber at this point, and the entrance was probably over this. From the space in the east wall the ground slopes gently to '^Cae Gaer," and this track has always been utilised when carts have been brought into the enclosure.
The soil, except in one or two places, was very shallow. In the south-west corner the rock stood above the level of the soil before excavation, but no floor level could be discovered. This rock was reddened by fire, and a quantity of ash filled the south-east comer. The finds were disappointing. In one place, near the entrance-way across the chamber, a few pieces of pottery were found, but they had probably been brought there with some rubbish which had been
204 THU EXOAVAtlONS AT DlK LLlGWY
removed from another part of the enclosure when a path was being made.
The finds were : —
1 fragment of coarse black pottery.
13 fragments of black Romano-British pottery.
3 fragments of red Gaulish ware.
1 fragment of a vase^ thumb-pot pattern.
4 fragments of red mortaria.
2 pieces of curved tile.
2 fragments of a yeUow mortarium. *A piece of thin sheet bronze.
An iron horse-shoe.
A limpet shell and part of a '* cyprina" shell
3 pieces of stag's horn, one piece marked as with a saw. 2 small pieces of flint
20 teeth of " bos."
2 teeth of horse.
10 teeth of sheep.
6 teeth of pig.
A few animal bones and small pieces of slate.
We now come to three enclosed spaces, Nos. 11, lla, and 1 Iby which can hardly be called chambers properly speaking. No. 11 is situated outside and adjoining the south wall of the enclosure. The inside measure- ment is 19 ft. in length and about 11 ft. in width.
Excavation revealed other walls beyond, connected with the south wall. The purpose of the different walls is not evident : possibly they were built at different times when alterations to the existing wails may have been made.
The west wall, about 3 ft. 8 in. in thickness, extends for 8 ft. 5 ins. in a southerly direction, when it ceases, having apparently been broken away, and there is no further trace of this wall. The north wall was part of the wall of the enclosure. It has a low retaining wall about 2 ft. 6 ins. in width, to support its foundations, built probably when the enclosed space itself was
THB EXCA.VATI0N8 AT DIN LLIOWY 205
formed. The east wall, also about 3 ft. 8 ins. in thickness, is fairly complete on the inside, but only two or three stones mark the outside line. This wail was also extended further to the south. The south wall, from 3 ft. to 3 ft. 5 ins. in thickness, is very puzzling. The western part is composed of large blocks of stone, well and truly laid. Then comes a wall 3 ft. thick, almost at right angles to it, cutting through it and extending to the wall of space No, lib. The eastern part of this wall is incomplete, and composed of a few small stones carelessly laia. Presumably the entrance was at the south end of the west wall.
The depth of soil was about 2 ft. on the west side and 1 ft. on the east, but the floor level could not be ascertained with absolute certainty. Excavation was discontinued when the undisturbed soil was reached. The earth here differed from that in the other chambers in that it resembled field soil and was lighter in colour. I think it improbable that this space was roofed over.
The finds included : —
3 fragments of thick coarse pottery.
1 piece of coarse black pottery, the first of its kind.
42 fragments of black Romano-British pottery, one piece with part of an iron clamp.
5 fragments of red Gaulish ware.
7 fragments of grey Roman ware.
2 iron nails, *an iron knife, and a small piece of iron.
Shells of cockle, periwinkle, and a mass of crushed mussel sheU&
3 pieces of flint and three flakes. 2 flakes of chert.
Slag, about one pint. 22 teeth of " bos."
4 teeth of horse. 12 teeth of sheep.
8 teeth of pig. 1 bird bone.
A few thin pieces of slate.
206 THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY
Enclosed Space No. 11a.
This represents the long narrow trench between the south wall of No. 11 and the north wall of No. lib. It is crossed by a wall, already referred to, about 3 ft. wide, which divides it into two parts ; the western portion, well defined, is 11 ft. 6 ins. long, about 1 ft. wide at the western end, which is open, and 2 ft. 6 ins. at the eastern extremity. The eastern portion is well defined on three sides, but the northern side is only bounded by some stones laid in position without much care, and measures about 4 ft. in length by 3 ft. in breadth. The rock crops up at the western end of the trench, and the depth for the rest of its length is about 12 or 18 ins.
The following articles were found here : —
1 piece of coarse black pottery, similar to that found in
No. 11.
2 fragments of a red mortarium.
Shells of periwinkle, limpet, and crushed mussel shells. ] small piece of flint. 1 small piece of slag.
3 teeth of " bos."
5 teeth of sheep.
1 tooth of pig.
Bones of " bos" and sheep.
Enclosed Space No. 11b.
This may at some time have been a chamber, but if so, nearly all its walls have been destroyed. The only ones which now remain are — the north wall, 18ft. 6 ins. inside measurement, and part of the west wall 9 ft. 4 ins. in length. Three stones, together 4 ft. 8 ins. in length, meet this wall 6 ft. from the corner. The outside north-west corner is rounded on the outside.
Only one thin piece of red Gaulish ware, with raised conventional design, was found here, and two teeth of bos."
((
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY 207
As regards the finds that have been made in the course of the excavations, probably the most important have been the smelting hearths and the pottery repaired with iron clamps. The hearths were in most cases covered with stones and rubbish, and it was difficult to examine them properly. It is, however, clear that they were circular, from 12 ins. to 18 ins. in diameter, and made on the floor level or a little above it. One hearth, just outside the entrance to chamber No. 4, was paved with rounded stones of about 5 ins. or 6 ins. diameter, and was laid with a depression in the centre. In this hollow were fragments of burnt clay, under a layer of blackish dust with lumps of iron slag embedded in it.
As to the pottery repaired with iron clamps, portions of ten or more of these clamps have been found in fragments of black Romano-British pottery, besides other pieces of pottery with holes bored to receive the clamps, and rusty marks showing where they had been.
A fragment of a yellow mortarium shows one such hole, with marks of rust, and also the grooves formed to receive a fish-tail lead clamp.
In No. 5 chamber part of the side and base of a black cooking-bowl was found, buried in the ashes of a hearth, still retaining large portions of two of these iron clamps and other small remains.
Unfortunately, up to the present time, no join has been made of clamped pottery, but it is evident that the clamps were usually from 1 in. to 1^ in. in length, and formed of flat iron, rectangular in section, measuring rather under 4 mm. in width and over 2 mm. in thick- ness.
I have examined the Koman exhibits in the British Museum and the Guildhall Museum, the Silchester finds in the Heading Museum, and the pottery in the Pitt-Rivers Museum, but found no examples repaired with iron clamps, only pewter or lead having been used.
Mr. C. A. Jones, Deputy-Constable of Carnarvon Castle, informs me that tne specimens of pottery found
208 THB EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY
at Segontium, which are under his care, bear no traces of having been thus repaired.
The only instance that I have discovered in which iron clamps have been made use of is among the finds at Forth Dafarch, near Holyhead, during excavations by Mr. W. O. Stanley in 1875-6. Here a fragment of pottery was discovered which had been mended " with iron wire".
I must also mention a fragment of a Romano-British bowl in the Pitt-Rivers Museum, which evidently had a complete line of iron clamps round the inside, about 1 J in. from the rim. The object of these clamps is not apparent, as they do not include a fracture, and could not have been used for the purpose of repair.
Having described the excavations and the objects discovered, it remains for us to consider the probable periods of the founding of the original colony and the present enclosure, the date of the latter, I submit, having to be looked for in Roman times.
It would appear to me that the original village covered a larger extent of ground than does the present enclosure. The remains of a curved wall, 220 ft. distant to the west on the edge of the rock, probably mark its extreme boundary in this direction, and the large stones, which evidently formed part of a curved wall on the north of the present enclosure, doubtless bounded the old village at this point.
With the exception possibly of three stones about 11 ft. from the south-east corner of the enclosure, no further traces can be found of this old curved wall, the stones having been removed to form the wall of the present enclosure.
I suggest that the two circular foundations or chambers are part of the old village, although possibly the masonry forming the interior of the larger circle has been rebuilt.
The old village, of which the two portions of wall and the two circular chambers alone remain, was, I
THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIGWY 209
believe, Goidelic, and constructed about the commence- ment of the Christian era.
With regard to the enclosure as it now stands, I suggest that its walls, and also certainly Chambers 4 and 5, were erected under Roman influence, if not under direct Roman supervision, early in the third century.
Evidence in favour of this theory is to be found in the straight walls, the width of the entrances to the chambers which greatly exceed those of the usual hut- circle, the fragments of fine Roman wares and coins found during excavation, and also the broken pottery neatly repaired with iron clamps.
A suggestion has been made that the enclosure may be called a mining village. I do not altogether agree with this. If it was occupied or made use of by the Romans or Romanised Britons, it is natural that the iron ore, the source of which I cannot trace, should be brought to the dwelling-place of the community, where probably oaks abounded and where smelting could conveniently be carried on. The smelting, was, I think, an accessory to the village, and not the village to the smelting.
It is certainly clear that the old village was, at some time, reduced in size ; but the reason is not evident, unless it was considered that the old straggling village oflTered too long a front to be easily defended.
The external wall follows roughly the contour of the mound so as to enclose the most level part of the rising ground.
The stones used at the western end of the north wall are large, and were probably hauled up from the old curved wall, only a few feet lower down the slope.
Chambers Nos. 4 and 6 are evidently of the same date as the external wall, the latter being 6 ins. thicker where it forms the sides of these chambers than any- where throughout the rest of its length.
The earliest name given to the enclosure is apparently to be found in Skinner's Tour in 1802, already referred
210 THE EXCAVATIONS AT DIN LLIOWY
to^ where, above a rough ground-plan, he has written ** Caer Lligwy." The adjoining field has certainly been known since 1770, and probably earlier, as "Cae Gaer," or the field of the stronghold.
The next name is that given in the Ordnance Map of 1841, " Din Lligwy": Din, or Dinas, signifying a fortified hill or village. The term *' fortified" need not imply defensive works of a complicated nature, but merely the existence of a wall suflScicntly high and strong to resist a sudden attack.
The village was probably an outlying position in connection with the Romano- British village at Parciau, already referred to, and from here doubtless a watch was kept on the landing-place at Traeth Lligwy for the approach of invaders by sea.
It is uncertain whether these Komano - British villages were occupied or made use of by the Eiomans or by Romanised Britons. If, however, this may be considered to have been a Roman outpost, the latest coins discovered point to the evacuation having taken place at the end of the fourth century.
211
MERDDYN GWYN BARROW, PENTRAETH
By HAROLD HQGHES
Above and looking down on the village of Pentraeth in Anglesey, on the left of the road leading to Llanbedr- gochjis a group of fantaBtically-shaped limestone rocks, which, towards dusk, viewed from a short distance, might easily be mistaken for the ruined remains of a mediaeval castle. Within a stone's throw of the rocks, in the direction of the village, stood, until recently, a large barrow. The farm on which it was situated is known by the name of Merddyn Gwyn.
That there is anything to record of the contents of this barrow is due to the foresight and energy of the Rev. E. Evans, the Rector of LlaAsadwrn. He discovered that the line of the new railway from Holland Arms to Red Wharf Bay would cut through the centre of the barrow, and that, as at this point the railway would be in a deep cutting, of necessity the whole mound would be destroyed.
As the new works approached the neighbourhood of Pentraeth, Mr. Evans asked the Rector of the parish, the Rev. E. P. Howell, to keep a vigilant look-out and to let him know as soon as the contractors began to demolish the mound.
On September 24th, the work of destruction com- menced. From that date till the last remains of the barrow had been cleared away in the second week in October, the excavations were vigilantly watched over by Mr. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. Howell.
Up to September 28th the navvies employed by the railway contractors proceeded with the demolition. During the following week, permission having been asked and kindly given by the contractors, the excava- tions were carried out with greater care by men
212 HEKDDYN OWYN BABROW, PBKTRAETH
employed especially for this work. The barrow was large and needed much turning over, and aa the steam- navvy was being set up in position, the excavations had to be carried on with greater haste than otherwise would have been necessary. The steam-navvy came into work in the afternoon of Friday, September 4th, and after that date it would have been unsafe to work immediately in front of it.
The Barrow. — The barrow is of the round type, though its circumference is not that of a true circle.
BxcaTalion of Merddjrn Owjn Barrow
The length is about 84 ft. and the breadth 74 ft. The longitudinal axis lies approximately north-east by south- west. As I did not see the barrow until a large portion of it had been destroyed, the general outline on the plan. Fig. 2, is taken from measurements kindly sup- plied by the Rev. E. Evans. The plan must, therefore, be regarded in the light of a sketch only, though the positions of the skeletons in respect to the points of the compass and to each other are according to measure- ments taken by myself. Towards but rather to the north of the centre of the
MBRDBITN OWTN BARROW, PENTRAETH
213
mound was a slight sinking or hollow, and the general appearance was that of twin mounds closely connected together. The full height, above what appeared to be undisturbed gravel, was 6 ft. At a distance of about 14ft. within the outer circumference was a ring of large atones, consisting of rough blocks of limestone. This ring was not complete towards the north-east. The greater portion of the mound within the circle was
PLAN or
10
.10
BARROW
.30 .^0 ^SO¥99¥
Fig. 2. — Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, Pentraeth
composed of blocks of limestone (probably obtained from the neighbouring rocks), but towards the east and north-east sandy gravel took the place of the stone blocks. Immediately over the skeleton No. 2, to be referred to in detail later on, the upper 4 ft. consisted of the sandy gravel. The whole oi the barrow was covered with a layer of earth, containing a few stones. The whole of the outer ring. 14 ft. wide, was composed of this material. A section, on Fig. 2, shows the general
214
UBftDDTN onrTH SABBOW, FBKTRABTH
construction of the barrow. With reference to the incomplete circle of Btones, it has been noted in con- nection with other barrows surrounded by a ring of detached standing stones, that the circle is often incomplete.' In this case, however, it must be borne in mind that the barrow appears to have been disturbed
subsequently to its construction. This point will be dealt with later.
The Finds. — A little west of the centre of the barrow, at a depth of 7 ft. below the top of the mound, and sunk 1 ft. into the gravel, grave No. 1 was discovered, A large capstone, formed of a rough block of limestone, was found in position, 3 ft. above the bottom of the grave. An upright stone, supporting one end of the * Britiah Mnseam, Guide to Brame Age, p. 46.
MERDDYK OWYN BABROW, PBNTRAETH
215
capstone, occupied the head or north-east end of the grave. Side and foot-stones do not seem to have been sunk below the level of the natural graCvel. This grave had been opened before I saw it. The head-stone and the skeleton were then in position, but the skull,
?ottery, and other grave goods had been lifted out. 'his was unfortunate, as there was a difference of
^
A«rcK
Rim ^
occrioa
Sccfioa of ^otlrom Fig. 4. — " DrinkiDg-Cup," Sections, etc.
opinion as to the exact positions occupied by some of the articles.
The main axis of the grave lay north-north-east by south-south-west. It contained the bones of an unburnt body, laid on the left side, the head towards the north, directed towards the east-south-east, the knees doubled up to the chin. Behind the head . was a so-called " drinking-cup." The photograph, Fig. 3, shows the general form, while a detail of a fragment with sections through various portions are given in Fig. 4. This
216
MERDDYN OWYlJ SaEROW, PEKTRAETfi
vessel was taken up in fragments, but has been pieced together by Dr. P. J. White, of the University College, Bangor. The general form is rude and irregular, and it appears, before the clay had hardened, to have become distorted to a certain extent. The neck is cylindrical, slightly inclined to an inverted cone. The body has the usual globular form. The following are the dimensions of the " cup" : — Height, 8^ ins. ; diameter of neck by rim, 6^ ins. ; diameter of neck at junction of body, 5|^ ins. ; diameter of body, 6 ins. ; diameter of bottom, 3|^ ins. The general outline is
A %.
SeeKori
4
piKn
> «
inftide
(Sllkl
'Broi\3e
Knife -D^Jgcr
Boi\e H syndic
Fig. 6. — Objects found
somewhat of the type of the example in the British Museum, from Lambourn Downs, Berks., but the sharp angle between the neck and body and the bands round the rim, at the bottom of the neck and the centre and base of the body, to be found in the latter example, are missing in the Pentraeth " cup." The whole work- manship and the design moreover of our specimen are cruder.
The treatment of the ornament is vertical, and forms a single herring-bone pattern, covering both neck and body.
The bronze blade of a knife-dagger. Fig. 5, 3^ ins. long, was found in this grave, said to have been behind
MEBDDYN GWYN BARKOW, PENTRAKTH 2l7
the skeleton. There were formerly three rivets to secure it to the plates, which may have been of ox-horn. Two of the rivets still exist. The knife-dagger is one of the very few types of bronze implements found in barrows. That the variety of bronze implements in graves is so limited has been accounted for by the theory that these barrows belong to a period before the general adoption of the metal.
A jet button, about 1;^^ in. in diameter, was found in this grave. It is pierced with two holes converging towards each other and shaped as the voids in trun- cated cones. See Fig. 5.
In this grave a fragment of dark stone, about I in. by ];\ in. by f in. was picked up. This I submitted to Mr. Edward Greenly, of Bangor, and he writes : — ** This is a fragment of chert, of the type that occurs in the carboniferous limestone of the district about Benllech and Llanbedr-goch. You are right in likening it to flint, for chert is of the same general composition and origin, only with a slightly different structure, due to slight alterations. I should think that this fragment had been flaked artificially, and it was certainly obtained in the district."
Burnt soil and charcoal were also found in this grave.
At a distance of 13 ft. from the centre of grave No. 1, in an east-north-east direction, a second grave was found, No. 2 on plan, Fig. 2. The skeleton was extended, with arms at the side and feet pointing west- south-west. This grave was at a depth of 9 ft. 3 ins. below the top of the barrow. The upper 4 ft. of the filling above the skeleton was composed of gravel, below this of rough stone blocks. It will be noticed that the depth of this grave was about 2 ft. below that of No. 1.
No articles of any description were found in connec- tion with this burial.
The original formation of the barrow appears to have been disturbed above this grave, and probably the
6th sbb., vol. vni. 15
218 MERODY^f OWN BAR80W, PBNTRABTH
disturbance occurred when a secoadary interment took place in this position.
At the point marked c. u. on plan. Fig. 2, a cinerary urn, reversed, containing burnt bones was found in situ. Unfortunately, it was broken into fragments in
Fig. «.— Fragments found
removing it. Some of the frtigments are shown in Fig. 6. In outline this urn resembles that of a "food- vessel." The decoration extends within the lip.
The bones have been pronounced to be that of a female.
Ill his introduction to the British Museum Guid^ to the Bronze Age, Mr. C. H. Read remarks : — "It has been
MBRDDYN GWYN BARROW, PENTRABTH 219
suggested . . . where an unburnt body is surrounded by a ring of non-burials, the entire skeletons may be those of chiefs or heads of families, and the burnt bones those of slaves, dependents, or even wives, sacrificed at the funeral."
This cinerary urn was the first find in the barrow, and was removed by the workmen employed by the railway contractors before permission had been obtained to examine the mound by the Bev. E. Evans and the Rev. E. P. Howell.
In examining the contents of the urn subsequently, the small bone pommel of an instrument, probably that of a knife-dagger, illustrated in Fig. 5, was discovered. One side is damaged, but it retains half of the socket into which the metal haft was inserted, with the two rivet holes on one side for securing it.
The fragments of an urn were discovered, not in situ, 6 ft. from the cinerary urn, in position marked F. c. u. on Fig. 2. The'ornamentation is more advanced and elaborate than that either of the **drinking-cup" or cinerary urn above referred to. Judging from the curve of the fragment of the rim the external diameter would have been about 8^ in«. The upper surface of the lip is decorated. The ornamental band, resembling a row of stars, and the decoration of the rim would have been made by a pointed tool, while a twisted cord would have been employed for the lower band of diagonal impressions.
The sizes would seem to indicate that the fragments are those of a cinerary urn. The outline and ornamen- tation are suggestive of those of a " food- vessel."
A fragment of another urn was found about 15 ft. west of the primary interment.
Two pieces of flint were picked up in the barrow. Of these Mr. Edward Greenly writes : — " The two light-coloured objects are true chalk flints. These do not occur in Anglesey in situ ; but they do occur as erratics in the glacial boulder clay, and one of these has the sub-angular rubbed form of such erratics. The
15 »
220 MERDDYN GWYN BARROW, PENTRAETH
other has certainly been flaked, and looks to me to be half an arrow head. But I am no expert on such. Anyhow, the material could have been obtained locally, though with less ease than chert, as most of the erratics are rather small."
One urn was destroyed by the steam-navvy, A few fragments were recovered, but they were not sufficient to indicate the size, shape, and ornamentation of the vessel.
Conclusion. — The barrow is of the Bronze Age. Its shape, the doubled-up skeleton, the knife-dagger, and all the pottery are typical of the period. The knife- dagger is supposed to belong to the period before bronze was in common use, and " drinking-cups" are considered the earliest form of pottery found in round barrows. The extended skeleton probably belongs to a flecondaiy interment.
221
Eebtetofii anH Bottcrsi of Sooksi.
The History of St. Doghabl's Abbet. Bj Emilt M. P&itchard. 241 pp. IBs, net London : Blades, East, and Blades.
The Abbey of St. Dogmael's is fortunate in having for its first historian the capable authoress of Cardigan Priory in the Olden Days, With loving care and enthnsiasm M.rs. Pritchard has spared no labour in her investigations into the records of this ancient Pembrokeshire fonndation, and tells the story in an easy, readable style, with an occasional ezcarsion into philology. The saint from whom the Abbey derives its name was the great-grandson of Gnnedda Wledig, and lived a.d. 450 500. He founded a religions house the site of which Mrs. Pritchard identifies with "Yr hen Monachlog," not far from the present rains of St. Dogmael's Abbey. However this may be, we have some tmstworthy record of the Abbey's history, when some six centnries later Robert Fitz-Martin came in 1113, bringing to the neighbonrhood thirteen monks from Tiron (now Thiron-Qardais), on the south-east borders of Nor- mandy. He was the eldest son of Martin de Turribus, of the Towers (to be carefully distinguished from his famous namesake of Tours), who after some vigorous fighting acquired the Barony of Gemaes.
In 1118 this son Bobert, on succeeding to the Barony, set about building an abbey, and on its completion brought over thither from the Abbey of Tiron a second company of monks, richly endowing it with lands and fees in different parts of the Barony, as well as with lands in Devonshire.
A full description is given of the mother Abbey of Tiron, and a recital of the Confirmation Grants made by successive popes and kings to the daughter Abbey, which is variously called *' the Priory de Guales," " the Monastery of Ghamais," '* the Abbey of Gath- mais." These grants are given at length (translated), as well as a considerable number of original documents, which wiU, doubtless, be of great value to the investigator into pedigrees and place-names. The original text might with advantage have been supplied in the notes or in an appendix.
We learn that, shortly after its establishment as an abbey, St. Dogmael's was reduced to great poverty, amongst other misfor- tunes suffering pillage at the hands of the Irish in 1138, but fifty years later it became once more prosperous.
Ghapter YII gives an amusing description of incidents connected with Archbishop Baldwin's visit, when preaching the Crusade. The Archbishop knew no Welsh, so that few could understand him. Gerald, his companion, addressed the people in Latin, not being
222 RS VIEWS AND NOTICES Of BOOKS
sufficieutly flnent in Welsh to preach in that language, jet each was the magic of his voice that even though the people coald not under- stand what he said, thej were carried away by his enthasiasm, and he persuaded many to take the Cross. Walter, Abbot of St. Dogmael's, was Gerald's rival for the Bishopric of St. David's. He was so illiterate that he coald not read his Psalter, and when called upon (in the examination as to his *' learning") to read the Pope's commission appointing his judges, he was obliged to acknowledge his inability to read either that or, as an alternative, a Missal with large and legible writing. Abbot Walter's candidature was, there- fore, a failure ! The monks, too, at a later period (the Dissolution) were unable to write, for from the photograph of the ** Acknowledg- ment of the King's Supremacy" it appears that while the Abbot and another sign their own names, all the other signatures are in the same handwriting.
An interesting account is given of Galdey Priory, where one of our members, the Rev. W. Done Bushell, the owner of the island, is erroneously said by the authoress to have established an English Benedictine monastery.
Two chapters are devoted to the history of Pill Priory, " the Abbey's richest daughter," founded between 1161 and 1170 by Adam de la Roche, and the chapter headed ** Erin's Tribute" contains full particulars of the Priory of Glascareg, Co. Wexford, founded by Griffin Condon, 1172.
The book is handsomely printed, and illustrated by twenty excellent photogravures (full-page), and a reproduction of Blaeu's 6ne map of Pembrokeshire, 1584.
The Lives of the British Saints. By S. Barimo-Gould, M.A., and John Fishek, B.D. Vol. I. Published for the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. 343 pp.
We welcome most heartily this valuable contribution to Celtic hagiology, which has been issued (the first of four volumes) under the auspices of the Honourable Cymmrodorion Society. They are to be congratulated on the success of their venture so far as the work itself is concerned, and we hope that their enterprise will be encouraged and rewarded by the support of a goodly number of subscribers, so as to ensure the issue, in due course, of the remaining volumes of the series.
This work, in which the Rev. S. Baring-Gould and the Rev. John Fisher have collaborated. The Lives of the British Saints, is to be distinguished from another work with nearly similar title by the former of the two authors, treating only of the Celtic saints of Wales and Cornwall, and such Irish saints as have dedications in Britain. The Scottish saints of Celtic origin are not indnded in this work.
REVIEWS AKD KOTICES Ot BOOtS 223
No labour has been spared in the preparation of this volume. Mr. BariDg-Gonldy we are informed, has devoted twenty years to the study of the subject, in Wales, and Cornwall, and Brittany ; and his colleague, Mr. Fisher, has been equally indefatigable in his search for materials in the private libraries of Wales, as well as the MS. collections in the British Museum, Jesus College, Oxford, etc. Thus for the Life of St. Brychan, the following MSS., amongst many others, were consulted : " Llyfr Lly welyn Offeiriad " (Jes. Coll.), " Y Piser Hir " (Swansea), the Peniarth MSS., Cotton Collection, the Cartulary of Quimperle.
It has been a most la1)orious task, carried out with the painful accuracy of a trained student, rendered the more difficult (shall we say, unsatisfactory to the historical mind) on account of the mass of fable which has gathered round the names of these holy men, and by the well-known intricacies of Welsh geuealoofy.
About one-third of this first volume is occupied with an introduc- tion, dealing in a very interesting and readable style with the many features of the work. There is the question of the Dedication of the Churches and Religious Foundations. It is maintained that this meant a great deal more than is now understood by the term. It meant *' proprietary" dedication, ownership. This was secured by the saint fasting for forty days on a particular site, thus conse- crating that site to God, and the saint's claiming it as his own in perpetuity. These early Celtic saints, too, it is stated, were re- markable for their activity and their acquisitiveness. They never remained long stationary, but hurried from place to place, dotting their churches or their cells wherever they could obtain foothold ; not contenting themselves with their own native land, but crossing the seas to Cornwall and to Brittany, and making foundations there as well. So it is claimed that whilst Armorica was probably colonised by refugees from all the south coast of Britain, its eccle- siastical organisation, nevertheless, is due solely to the Welsh. There is no trace whatever of British saintly founders from other portions of Britain.
Against this must be set the changes brought about by the Norman Conquest. In Wales the Norman prelates, whenever they could, displaced the Celtic patrons from their churches, and dedi- cated them to saints whose names were to be found in the Roman Calendar. Hence the frequency of the dedication to the Blessed Virgin. Instances are given irom the diocese of St. Asaph, where Llanfwrog (St. Mwrog), Llannefydd (St Nefydd), Whitford (St. Benno), have been transferred to St. Mary ; Northop (St. Eur- Min) to St. Peter. In Cornwall, Al tarn on has been taken from St. Non and given to St. Mary.
As to the materials available for this work, the authors had to sift carefully (and herein lies the special value of this undertaking) the narratives in the so-called " Lives," none of which are contem- porary, and consisted, in great part, of marvellous legends rather than historical facts. The writers did not scruple to alter or
224 RETtHWS AND NOtlCBlS Of BOOKS
eliminate any particulars which they considered to detract from the perfection of the saint, or not to be in accordance with their notion of ecclesiastical order. Instances of this are adduced in the life of St. Kentigern and that of St. Gundleus.
Our authors display much of the true historical sense in their treatment of the miraculous, e,g,^ in dealing with the tales of dragons, so common in the " Lives " of Saints. They suggest that in some instances the dragon is symbolical; that its destruction represents a successful rising against an oppressive ruler, or that it may refer to the saint having abolished a pagan sacrifice at which the human victims were enclosed in a cage of woven osiers shaped like some mythical monster.
A curious custom is mentioned (resembling a similar practice in India) of '* fasting against " a person. St. Cadoc is offended with Maelgwn Qwynedd for an act of violence, for which he, with his ecclesiastical tribe, seeks revenge. Maelgwn, " in raging and furious anger,'* marches against the saint and his tribe. Cadoc cannot resist by force of arms ; so he and all his men institute a fast against the King, who at once gives way.
We reluctantly close this notice of a book so full of valuable and well-digested information, calling attention to the very useful Calendars of Welsh and Cornish Saints, pp. 70-86. Bishop Chal- loner is severely and justly criticised for the inaccuracy and un trust- worthiness of his list of saints.
The articles on St. Aidan, St. Asaph, St. Beuno, St. Brendan deserve special commendation.
The Place -Names op Decies. By Rev. P. Power. 503 pp. 1 2<. 6d net London : David Nutt.
The study of Irish place-names has, hitherto, received from com- petent scholars but scant attention, though it is an important branch of archsBology. Carried out on scientific principles, with due caution and a certain degree of humble- mindedness, it will be found to reveal much of the character, the manner of thought, and occupations of those who in successive ages peopled the land.
This cannot, as Mr. Power points out, be said of the modem system of place-names, which has called forth Emerson's satirical complaint of America, that *' it is whitewashed all over by un- meaning names, the cast-ofi^ clothes of the country from which the emigrants came."
The work before us is the result of a very creditable attempt to treat a subject in v/hich the author claims to be a pioneer, and for which we owe our grateful thanks, though we may not be able
RBVlfiWS AN1> NOTICES O*' BOOKS 225
to accept all his conclnsions and interpretations. A vast number of names have been dealt with, and Mr. Power has clearly spared no pains in collecting material, upon which he has been engaged for several years pasfc, and whilst he recognises this effort of his to be '' a rather daring nndertakiug," he records with dne acknow- ledgment the assistanco he has received from learned scholars, as well as from the hnmble cotters with whom he talked in the fields in summer time or by the tnrf fire on winter evenings.
" The Principality of Decies" corresponds roughly to the County of Waterford, with a part of Tipperary. The mi^drity of the names in the district are Celtic, some pre-Celtic, tog^her with a con- siderable admixture of names Teutonic in origin. Most of the English names which occur are translations of words originally Irish, which Mr. Power refers to the time of Charles II, when an Act was passed commanding the use of JSnglish instead of Irish names. "These barbarous and uncouth names had occasioned much damage to divers of His Majesty's good subjects, and are very troublesome in the use thereof, and much retard the reformation of the Kingdom of Ireland."
The place-names derived from physical features are far the most numerous. The word **Cnoc," a hill, appears in 1608 names ; Drom or Drum, a ridge, commences 2000, and Clon, a meadow, 1680 names. Bally forms a portion of 6400, and Cill (a church) follows close, as the first syllable of 2890 town-land names.
Of animal names, the cat is very frequent, but mice, frogs, snails, spiders, and asses furnish no namea Mr. Power supplies no hint why this should be.
The book, which we strongly recommend to our readers as full of interest^ is put forth in excellent form, and is furnished with useful maps. It opens out a very fascinating study, and suggests several problems (especially those connected with the horse, cow, and dog legends) which deserve and will assuredly repay careful scientific investigation.
A Short Account of St. Greoout's Minster, Kirkdale, Nawton,
York. By Rev. P. W. Powell.
This pamphlet, admirably illustrated, price one shilling, is published with the object of raising funds for the preservation of an ancient Church which supplies a link to the Early Mission work of the Church in this land to Aidan, Chad, and Cedda. The sundial, of which we give a facnmile, is worthy of notice. The day is divided into eight hours, and the double cross on the first line indicates probably the hour of the first service. The Anglo-Saxon inscription, the longest of its kind extant, is dated, and gives the actual age of this Church. '* Orm Gamai's son bought St. Gregory's Minster
226
ttEVlBtrs aHD HOtlCKS Ot BOOKS
when it was broken down (bit wbs ml tobkocak tofiuh) &Dd fillen, and he let it be made anew from the groand to Christ and St. Qregorj, in Edwaid's days, the King, and in Tosti's days, the Earl."
[gB"N1T0FfflANM I
Tbe central panel has on the dial —
" This IB day's Snn marker | at every time,"
and at the foot —
" And Hawarth mo wrought and Brand, priests."
Amongst other illnstrationB are " The Coffin Lid of Ethelwald, Kinc* of Deira" ; " The Sapposed Coffin Lid of Bishop C«dd" ; another showing an ezcelleat specimen of knot-work, and "The Hyena Cave."
227
^tttaeologual Botti aiiD (Suertes.
Rohan Cardiff. — Since my article on *' Roman Cardiff" appeared, Mr. John Staart Corbefct, Bute Estate Office, Cardiff, has called my attention to a statement in Rice Merrick^s Booke of Glamorgan- skirt^ b Antiquities^ 1578 (p. 100 in James Andrew Corbett's edition, 1887). After referring to the north and east walls of the Castle, Merrick states : " These two last-recited Walles be fortified with a deep ditoh, and the Walles entrenched very high with Earth. In these Walles be some decayes, yet unrepayred."
Upon this Mr. J. S. Corbett comments : '* To read his whole description (and, of course, he was speaking of a thing with which he was qnite familiar), one wonld imagine that, in his view, walls of similar character surrounded the whole of the four sides, but that those on the north and east were * entrenched very high with earth,' or, in other words, that walls existed from the g^nnd upwards with earth heaped against them. If anything of this sort did in fact stand at that time, it could be no other than the Roman wall itself, and it would seem to follow that a part of the wall must have been pulled down and the Castle banks largely added to at the time of the alterations of 1778. This I venture to think very unlikely, and agree with you that the earthworks are probably medieval, but then Merrick's account does present a difficulty."
"I do not see how he could have described in such terms as he does such a slight wall as existed until recently. It seems possible that in medieval times, though very possibly at a date later than the construction of the earthworks, a wall had been built upon the top which Merrick may have supposed to extend down- wards thiough the banks to the ground-level"
Merrick's description of the Castle is so very precise, although obscure in some details, that his statement is, as Mr. Corbett says, a difficulty. But the slight wail on the summit of the north and east banks (d in my Fig. I), which remained until a few years ago, as also its continuation for 100 ft. or so along the south, which still exists, is certainly not so old as Merrick's day. Probably it was rebuilt during the alterations of 1 778, from older foundations. Its ruined predecessor, which he saw, may have been a more substantial structure, and in such case he may well have supposed it to be a continuation of the " Ten Foot Wall " of the west and western half of the south sides of the Castle, peeping above the earthwork. It is also just possible that his words, " entrenched very high with earth," were not intended to convey the sense Mr. Corbett attaches to them.
But the evidence of the spade is conclusive. The summit of the buried £oman wall was equally weather-worn with its rugged
228 AftCH^OtOGlCAL NOTES AND QtERltJS
front. Had the upper portion of the wall been removed since Merrick's day^ the summit wonld certainly have presented a very different appearance when exposed to view during the recent alterations. This rough and rounded summit was 8 fb. or more below the summit of the bank, and this brings us to the long horns of a dilemma — either the demolishers of the visible upper portion were not satisfied with simply levelling it, but carried their work down to that depth, or the bank was subsequently raised thafc number of feet. The former is too improbable for consideration; while the evidence of the excavations is against the latter. Nowhere were there signs that the great bank had been capped with modem material ; and a dividing line between the ancient and the modern could hardly have escaped notice. The fact that the recently- existing wall did not coincide anywhere with the Roman below, shows that its builders were ignorant of the latter.
John Ward.
Thb Safe kebpinq of Local Antiquities. — As an example to others to " go and do likewise," honourable mention should be made of an admirable address given by one of our members, Mr. Wil- loughby Gardner, to the newly-founded Llandndno Field Club, in which he calls attention to the duty of preserving the monumente which have come down to us from early times. Mr. G^ardner instanced the " Tyddyn Holland Stone" {Arch, Camb., 1877, p. 136, and 1896, p. 138) : — *' A roadside, where it has already sustained irreparable damage, is surely not the place for a valuable ancient monument such as this. Of recent years many such early Christian monumental stones have fortunately been rescued from equally perilous situations and placed in positions of safety, sheltered also from the disintegrating action of the weather. Some have found permanent homes in museums, others in private houses. But undoubtedly the fittest place for a precious monument of early Christianity is inside a Christian church." As the result of this appeal, we are pleased to learn that the Bev. John Jones, senior Curate of Llanrh68, has just had the inscribed stone referred to transferred to Llanrhds Church, where Lady Augusta Mostyn has provided for it to be fixed with due care in the Mostyn Chapel. The cromlech on Great Ormes Head, locally called ''Lletty y Filiast,'* is to be railed round at the expense of Lord Mostyn.
Domestic Chapel, Abekoavennt. — Mr. Bowen, Local Secretary for Monmouthshire, and Mr. Edmund T. Jones, Fforest Legionis, Pont-Neath-Yanghan, have forwarded, independently, accounts of an interesting discovery recently made at Abergavenny of a Domestic Chapel in the house of Thomas Gunter, a Roman Catholic, of the time of Charles I. The detailed account, with illustrations, will appear in our next number of the Journal.
ARCHJJOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIBS
229
DiBOOTEBT Of COFPBB CaEEB IH SoDTH GARMABTONBHIItl. — Am
briefly recorded in the taat uane of thlB JoariutI, Jaanary, 1908, the BanooDoemeDt wan made of the disoovery oa the Slnt of October last of two oircnlar cakes of oopper on the sea-shore between Criccieth and Afonwen in Soath Carnarvon ahire.
The shape and general appearance of these oakes is faithfnlly depiotod in the accompanying lUaBtrations, which have been reproiJnoed from photographs taken by Ur. Nathaniel Evana, Pwllheli.
The bottom face and sidtis of the larger of the two cakes are
smooth, whilst the upper face ptesenta a roogh snrfaoe, having impressed npon it three stamps in Roman characters.
Of these stamps one only is contained within a label or border, oblong in form, and measnring Ij ins. in length, and | in. in breadth.
The characters ivu (repeated) bear evidence that the stamps nsed to impress them varied in site, ae the characters of one impression measnre one-fifth of an inch in height and cover a space of IJ in. in length, whilst the others are in height \ in., and cover in length the space of I in.
The {feaeral appearance of the smaller cake is simitar to the other,
230
ARCHiEOLOGICAL N0TB8 AND QUERIES
sa^e that it is more worn. On its npper sarfaoe it bears one deeply- impressed stamp. The angle formed between the lower and the npper rims of both cakes is as nearly as may be 45 deg. The metal, where it has been slightly scraped with a knife, presents the bronze as of a dark rich colour. The characters impressed on both cakes are for the most part well defined, but in certain instances they are blurred and difficult to decipher.
■^
..-^^^yVi^C^^;
y
-^ -^^^^X^^-^
Stamps on Copper Cakes, Glanllynau Farm.
The excellent drawings of the stamps which are here illastrated are the result of careful comparison of the photographs with impressions taken in plaster.
I wonld like to draw attention (as the outcome of close study of the originals) to certain features in connection with the labelled stamp on the larger cake.
There appears to be a ligulate, or something like it, surmounting the V. There are indications of a full stop after the letter 8, whilst
AROHAOLOaiCAL N0TK3 AND QlTERIES 231
the letter folloving immediately afler 3 appears to ooataia withia it the scarcelj-peroeptible outlines of a diminative 0.
Of the characters appeaFing oa the stamp on the smaller oake, tlie oompletion of the circle of the second letter is not free from donbt. The representation of the remaining characters given in the illas- trationa accord closely with the original.
I will not attempt to offer a reading of the characters, as to do so requires a wider ezperietioe th&n I can possibly claim.
Capper Coke, Olanllynau Farm.
I am not aware of the existence in the locality of any anthentioated Boman road, but the dinoorery of these cakes within a short distance of the oircniar monnd known as Tomen &wr, on Glanllynan Farm, cannot wholly be ignored.
In and abont the neighbonring hilla, and more especially in the vicinity of Snowdon, there are evidences of many old copper work- ings, whilst the copper workings on Paris Koantaia in Anglesey have in their origin been attribated to the Roman period.
Finds of similarly-shaped copper disoa, varying in site and weight,
232
ARCHAOLOQICAL NOTES AND QUERIES
have been prerioaalj' recorded as hATin^ oome from AngloBey and Caerhfin (Conovium), (vide Areh. Camft., 1871, p. 51 ; Evans's Ancient Brome Implementt ; Pennant's Tour in Walet, vol, i, p. 83, of the 1883 edition ; Rowland's Early Metallwgy of Copper, Tin, and Iron ; ttnd Camden'e Britannia, IttOS edition, p. <j70).
Thia important discovery Bnggeats reflections npon the origiit and pnrpone of these copper cakee.
Was the ore the prodnct of this coantrj, or was it imported from
Co|)p?r Cake, OUuUyua
the Continent P Wliereeoever obtuined, was the ore smelted and moulded into the form of these cakes for the purpose of removal oat of the coantry as merchandise, or tt'ibnto exacted by the Romani from the vanqnished territories ; or did they represent the amoaot of bnllion allotted for the pay of the regular soldiers or their allied mercenaries ?
Conjeotare is also aronsed as regards the meaning of the stamps fonnd apon these oakes. Can they be identified as merchant's stamps, or do they represent the names of the chief officer in sharge
f
ARCHJ20L0GICAL NOTES AND QUERIES 238
-of the smeltiDg furnace P Again, may they possibly relate to the Legion, Cohort, or other body or ti*oop composing the invading force, or army of oocnpation, or to its commanding officer ? Does the character of the letters snggest the period of their origin ? The thanks of the Cambrian ArchsBological Association are due to
3» Mr. Thomas Griffith of the School House, Llanystymdwy, for the
actual preservation of these highly-important relics, as well as for
^ other valuable assistance given to the local secretaries.
Charles E. Breese, I Local Sec. (CA.A.) for Carnarvonshire.
N.B. — The above cakes have now been acquired on behalf of the public, and are at present placed for security at the Public Library, -Criccieth.
Stone Hammer, South Carnarvonshire. — Mr. T. E. Morris, Local Secretary (CA.A) for Carnarvonshire, forwards a " cutting" from The Border Counties AdverttzeVy January 15th, 1908, describing the €nd reported by Mr. T. Frimston, of Colwyn, of a stone hammer at the foot of the Eifl, " in TJeyn, Carnarvonshire, within a stone's throw of Crymllwyn, John Elias' birth-place. It is of an oval shape, ^ ins. by 5 ins., round at one end, pointed at the other. The centre is perforated for a handle, and so arranged that the handle would •automatically wedge itself. Its weight is somewhat over 6 lbs.'*
Earthen Vessel, Cardiganshire. — In the same paper Rev. D. H. Davies, Ffinant House, Newcastle Emlyn, reports the picking up of ''^ a small earthenware vessel in the parish of Penbryn, Cardigan- shire, about 300 yds. from the Dyffryu Beren inscribed stone, •CORBALENGi lACiT ORDOvs {Arch. Camb., 1861, pp. 306-7). It measures •5| ius., and at its greatest circumference 12^ ins. The upper portion seems to have been covered with a greenish glaze, and the earthenware very hainl and well burnt.''
Blabngwenog Barrow, Cardiganshire. — Mr. Stepney-Qulston, Local Ssoretary (C. A.A.), Carmarthenshire, reports that *' a barrow, at Blaengweuog, in the higher part of the parish of Llanwenog, had some time ago been cut into accidentally or otherwise. More recently, further spade-work was done, revealing a funeral urn in fmgmentS) with some burnt bones. The fragments of the urn seem to ifldioate one of about 7 ins. in diameter at the mouth. With this were the bits of an ' incense cup ' of characteristic shape, and an ornament as of thongs impressed in the wet clay, which is thickly mixed with coarse gvii, Tiiere were also with these fragments a quantity of minute white stones, but no bone pins or beads. All seems to point to a burial of the Bronze Age."
6th 8BB. VOL. vni. 16
234
ARCH^OLOQICAL NOTES AHD QUERIES
Tub BBOaouAQLi Inscribed Stohb at Voei^s Hai.l. — Aboat a yeat- since, the late Mr. Romillf Allen aaked me to obtain a good photograpb of this stone, aa he thoagbt "it had been inadequately illiiBtrated in the Areh. Camb., vol. ii, p. 80, and that it waa tinitt wo hod something bettor." I was able to nend him a good piotare^
taken by Mr. Albert Hnglies of LlanrwBt, b; the kind permiaaion of Mrs. Wynne Finch. Tliis is here reproduced.
It shows the lettering distinctly. As some few years since Dr. Eano Meyei- and I had caref nllj examined the luacription and aaaared ourselves that the word commencing the Hecond line was not I4| I I, as rendered by Wcstwood, bat iatti, I drew Mr. Komillj Allen's attention to tins. Mr. Allen had intended writing a not« on
ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES 235
the inscription. It is dae io his memory that I ehoald give his reply on the point, and not take credit to myself in using his remarks without acknowledgment : —
*' I have no doubt whatever that the second line begins with UTTi. If it was */af» ' it would be written i a iTT and not i a t t i, with distinct gaps between the ends of the horizontal strokes of the two T*s and between the second t and the i. 'Jam ic jacit' is absurd, as if the deceased lies there ; there is no particular sense in saying that he lies there now, and such a formula is absolutely unknown elsewhere/'
But who was lArrosP At the moment there appeared to Dr. Kuno Meyer and myself no record of such a name in Wales, but he found a recent notice of a vir-iatus in Whitley Stokes' ZeiUchtift fiir Celtische Philologie^ i, p. 53, and subsequently GWRIAts, with which the name lattos may cognate, turned up in Welsh and Manaw records — e.g., Gwriat, a King of Manaw (Isle of Man) — so that our assumption that Brohomagli was the son of one iattos seems reason- ably certain, and that Westwood was wrong. I may just add that Mervyn Vrych, King of Gwynedd, was son of Gwriat, King of Ynys Manaw (Isle of Man). The meaning of lattos I have been unable to ascertain from any source. It may possibly have a Roman origin, as so many Celtic names appear to have.
Wm. B. Halhbd.
"Maesnonni" Inscribed Stonb. — Notification of the discovery of an inscribed stone having been found in the parish of Llanllwni, near the river Teify, in Carmarthenshire, towards the end of last year. I am now able to send the following particulars, most of which I have obtained through the courtesy of the Rev. Geo. Eyre Evans, who writes that " on the 23rd November, 1907, Mr. T. T. Bowen, clerk of the Parish Council of Llanllwni« wrote to me, as Secretary of the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field -Club, to inform me that an inscribed stone had just been turned up, by ploughing, in that parish."
On Monday, the 25th' November, I visited the spot, in company with Mr. Bowen and Mr. Evan Watkin Jones, owner of the Maesnonni Farm, on whose land his brother had found the stone when ploughing in Cae Capel.
The stone, measuring 39 ins. in length, 9 ins. in breadth, and 3 ins. in thickness, and apparently unhewn, was struck by the ploughshare about I ft. below the surface of the ground in Cae Capel, in a portion of that field which had not been ploughed for some years.
Marking the site of its discovery on the parish Ordnance Map, the stone was carefully lifted and carried into the farm store-room under shelter. After well washing it, without any scraping or rough treatment, the enclosed rubbing and photograph were taken.
236
ARCH.£DLOGI0AL NOTES AKD QUERIES
The inscription is in carsi^e letters, probably of the ninth or tenth centarj. No mention of this stone is to be fonnd in Arch. Camb, or in Lapidartum Wallioe.
The site of its discovery is a little — say 800 yards — off Sam Helen, which mns from south-west to north-east through the parish, and is known to many of the older parishioners as being a little below the surface of the neighbouring fields to Cae Capel.
An account of the finding, and a sketch of the stoue by Mr. A. Weight Matthews, have appeared in the Trans<iction8 of our Society in the county, and a copy of the rubbing has been lodged with Mr. Bowen for the Parish Council Archives. May we now hope that Sir John Rhys, or perhaps some other learned brother, will shed his light upon the '* meaning and teaching " to be gathered from this latest and very interesting " find."
16th January, 1908.
Alan Stepnby-Gulston, of Derwydd, Local Secretary (G.A.A.) for Carmarthenshire
The Report of the Excavations at Glasfryn, Tremadoc, will appear in the July number.
A MEMBER (C.A.A.) sends the following extract : — *' Mr. Cobb^ of Corporation Hoad, Newport, an enthusiastic trout fisher, whilst fishing at New bridge-on- Wye, unearthed a very remarkable specimen of a stone celt. It was a flint axe-head, which was deeply imbedded in the clay of the river bank. It has been sent to the GeologiC'U Museum at London, and was there pronounced to be the finest celt ever unearthed in Britain, on account of the very sharp edge, which was as perfect as when used by the early Celtic inhabitants of the valley of the Usk."— ^<w<A Wales Daily News, November 28th, 1907.
Notice the inconsistency of the place-names mentioned — New- bridge-on-Wye and Usk. W. A. J. W.
Can any of the readers of the Archasologia explain or throw light on the origin and usage of such place-names in Anglesey as Bodorgan and Clorach Fawr in Llandyfrydog, the last nalned being tbe reputed meetin^j^-place, and centrally situated in the island, where Saints Seiriol and Cybi were wont to foregather at intervals of time and arranged meetings ? Aneurin Williams.
RICHARK HENRY WOOD, F.S.A., F.R.n.S.
Vice-President and Trustee of the CMubrian Architolugical Associiition.
rrhawbgia (I|amlrr^nsi«.
SIXTH SERIES.— VOL. VIII, PART III.
JULY, 1908.
AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
By the Rev. W. DONE BUSHELL, M.A., F.S.A.
A LITTLE to the south of Tenby lies a long low island, whose monotonous outline gives but little indication to the casual observer of the rich store of interest and of beauty which it contains. It is the Isle of Caldey, known of old as Ynys-y-Pyr, and rich, in spite of all appearances, as well in natural beauty as in hallowed memories. Encircled also as it is, at least in summer time, by a calm and boundless sea, blue with a blue- ness which recalls the Riviera or the Italian Lakes, and severed by it from the madding crowd, it seems to be especially fitted for a home for those who deem that they are called to live the quiet life with God. And hence perhaps it is that the traditions of the island are, as a matter of fact, monastic; that there were Celtic monks upon it in the early centuries, and Norman monks in later times; that there are Bene- dictine brothers still, though in obedience now to Canterbury, not to Rome ; maintaining, each community in turn, their solemn round of praise and prayer.
The islands — for if we include St. Margaret's there are two — are separated from the mainland by a sound or channel of about two-thirds of a mile in breadth, and of an average depth of about 40 ft. at low, and 65 ft. at high spring tides. Now, south of Milford
dTH 8SB., VOL. Vm. 17
238 AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
Haven, PembrokeBhire consists of a peDinsula built up of mountain limestone and of old red sandstone, in alternate banda, whose trend is west-north-west and east-south-east ; and two such bands are represented on these islands, the mountain limestone to the north, the old red sandstone to the south. The larger island is about a mile and a-half in length from east to west, and about two-thirds of a mile in breadth from north to south ; and, amongst other noticeable features of geological and pre-historic interest, there is on it a good raised beach ; and, in caves now quarried away, the
CatJe; Island and St. Sbi-g&ral'a from the UunUnd
well-known Rev. G. N. Smith, of Gumfreston, and Pro- fessor Boyd Dawkina found many pleistocene bones ; the former also came upon a number of neolithic human bones, with the remains of fish, dog, sheep or goat, and cattle, which are now in the Tenby Museum (Boyd Dawkins, Cave Hunting, p. 289 ; Law's Little England beyond Wales, p. 11) ; whilst in September last some early burials and a kitchen-midden were found in Priory Bay. The water supply is excellent.
It is said (see Cambrian Journal, 1855) that coins of Constantine the Great, of Constans, and of Carausius, have been found upon St. Margaret's ; the earliest written records, however, date from the sixth
AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS 239
century. We gather from the lives of St. Paul de Leon, St. Samson, and others, in the Acta Scmctorum and elsewhere, that in that century there was a monastery on the island, which was in close connexion with St. lUtyd's celebrated retreat at Llantwit in Glamorgan- shire. Wrmonoc, for example, Maine de VAhhaye de Landevenecensisj who wrote the recently discovered life of St. Paul de L6on in the year 884, expressly tells us that there was a certain island^ Pyr by name, within the borders of Demetia, in whicJi St. lUtyd spent much of his time/ and where he was associated with, amongst others, St. Paul de L^on, St. David, St. Oildas, and St. Samson ; and Pyr was most indubitably the former name of Caldey, as Giraldus and the deed of gift to St. Dogmaels amply testify. We read much also of the island in the various lives of St. Samson, which are of considerable authority, being all derived from an original memoir by one Enoch, whose uncle was a near kinsman of the saint, and who had himself con- versed with Anne, St. Samson's mother. We learn from them that the name of the first Abbot of Caldey was Piro, and that upon his death — he was* un- fortunately drowned — St. Samson was appointed to succeed him by the Archbishop Dubric, who was then upon the island, where indeed he usually spent the Lenten season.' And after his consecration St. Samson ruled the monastery for about three years. These
^ Erat autem qucBdam insula^ Pyr at nomine, Demetiarum patriae in finilna nta^ in qud et Iliutu$ guidam^ vir gtnere nolnlis et aanctarum ideniia litterarum satis clarus, . . . diebus degebat ac nodibus. — Analeota BollaDdiana, Vita Pauli Leonensis, i, 213. Rer. Celt., V, 419.
' Idem Piro in tenebrosa nocte et, quod est gravius, ut aiunt, per ineptam ebi^ietatem, in daustra monasterii deambulans solus, in puteum valde vastum se prcecipitavit, atque unum clamorem ultUatvs emittenSt a fratribus fere mortuus a lacu abstraetus est, et ob hoe ed node obiit. — Acta Sanctoram, Jalii vi, p. 582.
^ Ubi Dubricius episcopus, ii. cJioante quadragesima Paschce, habitabat, quia mos erat illi in iUa insula quadragesimam duci. — ADalectA Bol- landiana, VitaS. Sameonis, vi, 100.
17 »
240 AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
records show the ecclesiastical importance of the island in early times. Its importance was indeed so great that Professor Williams, of the Theological College, Bala, goes so far as to express an opinion that Caldey and not Llantwit was the original Llanna Iltuti {Some Aspects of the Christian Church in Wales, pp. 57, 58) ; but however this may be, and his view is hard to reconcile with what Enoch tells us in the almost contemporaneous life of St. Samson above referred to, it is certain that in the sixth century there was an important monastery upon the island, representing probably {see Williams, 05 above) the Eastern rather than the Western type of Christianity, and closely bound up with the great names of Illtyd, Dubric, Samson, David, Paul and Gildas. How long the Celtic monks remained upon the island is not known, but in the reign of Henry I it was, as Dugdale tells us, given by that monarch to Robert, son of Martin, who gave it to his mother Geva, who in turn, with her son's assent, conveyed it to the celebrated monastery of St. Dogmaels,^ a Benedictine house which followed the reformed rule,
^ For a full aoconnt of St. Dogmaels, see Mrs. Pritchard's History oj St, Dogmaels Abbey. It was foanded by the aforesaid Martin, sometimes called Martin de Tarribns, and sometimes Martin of Tonrs, and was endowed by his son Robert This Martin was one of the Conqueror's knights, and held lands in Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Devon, where Combemartin, whence he probably sailed for Fishguard, took its name from him. The title Turonensis or de Turribus, boweyer, given him by Owen, Fen ton, and others, has caused no little confusion. It has been assumed that he came from Tours, and he has been even confused with St. Martin of Tonrs himself. In the last edition, for example, of Murray's Handbook to N. Devon we find it stated that the Manor of Combe- martin " was given by the Conqueror to the powerful St. Martin of Tours, after whom it was called " ; and in commemoration of this, as it would seem, a window to Si Martin has been erected in the Church I The fact, however, is that Tironensis and not Turonensis was most probably the title borne by Martin, and that he came not from Tours but Tiron, or, as it is now called, Thiron-Gardais, near Nogent-le-Botrou, in Eure-et-Loir. See Owen's Pembrokeshire, p. 442, n. 3, and p. 363, n. 2; also Round's preface to his Calendar of Documents preserved in France, pp, xxxv and xzzvi.
AN ISLAND OF ¥H£ SAtNtS 241
then lately introduced by St. Bernard d'Abbeville at Tiron in the Diocese of Chartres. The charter records the gift as follows : " Dedit iisdem monachis mater mea insutam Pyi\ qucs alio nomine Caldea nuncupatur^ quam a domino meo rege mihi datam mcUH mece dederam*^ (Dugdale, Monasticon^ iv, 130; Baronia Anglicaim^ i, 27). The Priory, in consequence, became a cell of St. Dogmaels, and it so remained until the dissolution of the Monasteries, when the island, called in the grant The Manor of Calde, in the County of Pembroke, was, with St. Dogmaels, and various church lands, aliened by the King to one John^ Bradshawe of Presteign {Pat., 35 Hen. VIII, Part 4). The Bradshawes held it until 1612, when it was sold by the great-grandson of John Bradshawe of Presteign to Walter Philpin, Mayor of Tenby, and his son Griffith. In 1653 it passed by sale from the - Philpin family to one Reeve Williams, of Llanridian, and Robert Williams, of Loiighor.* In 1786, John Williams, a great-grandson of Reeve
^ He is called bj Owen {Pembrokeshire, i, 110) Roger, and by Fen ton {Historical Tour^ Ed. 1903, p. 252) George, bat his name was really John, as Fen ton elsewhere correctly gives it : see Lewys Dwnn^ Welsh Visitations , i, p. 257, Radnorshire, who gives a pedigree of seven generations of the Bradshawe family ; the grant also itself reads Carta Johannis Bradshawe. Fen ton {Bist, Tour, Ed. 1903, p. 281) says that he was baried at St. Dogmaels, and that the inscription on his tomb ran thus : Hie jacet Johannes Bradshaw, Armiger, qui obiit ultimo die Maii, Anno Domini 1588. Bat this refers, not to John Bradshawe the elder, whose will, dated Angnst 4, 1567, was proved in 1580, bat to his son John. These Bradshawes were only remotely connected with the regicide*
^ Edward Lhayd, one of the fathers of the Bodleian Libnur, dates from Caldey, March 26, 1698 ; it had also been visited m 1662 by John Ray, who gives a list of the rarer plants he noticed growing there, including *'the tree-mallow, the golden samphire, the vernal sqaill, the sea-spleenwort, and a kind of Tithymalns." (See Saturday Review, Jane 80, 1906.) On St. Margaret's, Bay, and his companion John Willonghby, found the nests of the *^ puits and gnlls and sea-swallows lying so thick that a man can scarce walk but he most needs set his foot upon them." The " kind of Tithy mains" was probably the Portland spurge, a small and uncom* inon species, still abundant in Priory Bay.
242
Alf tSL&l^D Ot TBE SAllfTlS
Williams, sold it to Qeorge Oreville, Earl Brooke and Earl of Warwick, who again, in 1 798, sold it to Thomas Rynaston, of Pembroke ; with the Kynaston family it remained until 1867, when it p^sed to Jaraee Wilson Hawlwley, whose widow sold it in 1894 to Thomas Dick Smith - Cuninghame. From Mr. Smith -Cuninghame it passed in 1897 to the writer of the present article, who again sold it iu 1906 to the Rev. Father Aelred, O.S.B. ; and it is now occupied by a community of Benedictine monks.
Th« TU1ig« Church, Caldaj Iilatia
established under the authority of a charter given by the late Archbishop of Canterbury in 1902.
This is an abstract of the history of Caldey, and it may now be well to consider briefly such remains existing on the island as may illustrate the narrative.
We will take first of all the Island Church, which up to the present time has met with little or no recogni- tion at the hands of archeeologists, but which, iu the light especially of certain recent discoveries, must be regarded as of considerable interest. It is a very primitive and simple building, bearing a conspicuous
iil iBLANb OF TfiB SAttlTB
legend,; " Restored in the year of our Lord 1838, and^ in the first of Queen Victoria." This record, indeed, does not seem very promising, but there is more behind.
Hi AN tStAKD OF "tSB SAlKta
Th« Priory Chapel, Gaidar Isluid : Interior
The church consists of a sacristy, a porch, a chancel, and a nave. Of these the sacristy is modera; and
kV tSLAlTt) O^ THfi SAtNTS 245
thej porch, which is not bonded to the west wall of the church, is of uocertain date. Neglecting theee, however, we find the ground plan of the western portion of the church to be a square, whose side is 20 ft. internal measuremeut, the walls being 3 ft. thick. It is lighted by a large south window, deeply splayed internally, and also by a small round window over
Cluiicel Arch of Cbe Village Churcb, Calde; U]mA
the western porch. This part of the church may be regarded as the nave. The chancel also, if we may bo apply the word, is a square of 18 ft. iutenial measure- ment, the north and west walls, which alone are old, being 3 ft thick. The south and east walls of the chancel, with the roofs, are modern, dating from 1838, before which time the building was in a very ruinous condition, and was used, it is said, as a blacksmith's shop. Between the chanoel and the nave an arch has very
246 AN IsLaMd 6f tHfi SAlMfi
recently been brought to ligbt, the jambs of which show, at a height of about 7 ft., two very simple imposta. The width of the opening is 8 ft. The arch was probably always round, as it is now ; the old walls end, however, just above the imposts. There is also in the west wall of the nave a Norman doorway, which was discovered in 1907. It consists of a double arch, one with an opening of 68 ins., the other of 56 ins. The north wall of the chancel has in it a tall and narrow window of some 14 ins. opening, deeply splayed internally, and situated well towards the east.
Now such a configumtion, with its heavy chancel archway, will, of course, remind us of the churches which we find in Gower and in Little England bevond Wales. But it is really very different from tLem. We must compare it rather with Flimston chapel, further down the coast, which is a simple oblong 46 ft. by 24 ft., with the well-known St. Govan's chapel, which is also a simple oblong 20 ft. by 12 ft., or with the chapels near St. David's of St. Justinian and St. Nun, than with the parish churches on the mainland ; there is at all events no other like it in the immediate neighbourhood.
And it is well, perhaps, to remember what Mr. Petrie has to say oi the early Irish churches (Petrie, Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland^ vol. i, p. 258) : *' The smaller churches," he says, " are simple oblong quadrangles. In addition to this quadrangle the larger churches present a second oblong of smaller dimensions extending to the east, and constituting the chancel or sanctuary, in which the altar was placed, and which is connected with the nave by a triumphal arch of semicircular form." He goes on to speak of the Cyclopean character of the walls.
Now there is nothing which can be called Cyclopean about the walls of Caldey Church ; indeed the Caidey limestone would not lend itself to any such Cyclopean work as we find across St. George's Channel ; but none the less it will be seen that, as regards the ground
An ISLAl^t) OF TUB BAiNDS 24?
Slan of the church, there is a full agreement with what Ir. Petrie tells us of the ancient Irish edifices. The western doorway, then, of the church being Norman, and the ground plan of a very primitive type indeed, we may perhaps be bold to nazard a conjecture that the building may have been erected in the course of the twelfth century, either when the island came into the- hands of Martin of Tiron, or when it had been transferred to those of St. Dogmaels Abbey, and that it may have been erected on the lines of an earlier Celtic church, of which some vestiges may possibly even now remain in the lower portions of the old walls.
But whether the island church shows traces of a Celtic origin or not, there is in the well-known Caldey stone an undeniable relic of the Celtic monks. This stone has been so fully described in various numbers of the ArchcBologia Cambrensis^ that it would not be necessary to say more about it were it not that the accepted reading of the Latin legend has recently been challenged by Mr. F. C. Burkitt, now Norrisian Pro- fessor of Divinity, and lately Lecturer in Palaeography in the University of Cambridge. But, this being so, it will be well to add a few more words concern- ing it.
The Caldey stone then is a block of sandstone with an incised cross, a Latin inscription below it, and an Ogam inscription round the edge ; there is also a cross on the back, and a small cross on either edge. The Latin inscription is in debased Roman lettering. A portion of the stone has long been broken off, and one of the smaller crosses comes in the way of the Ogam. The remaining letters, however, of the Ogam as de- ciphered by Sir John Rhys, are
MAGL DUBR,
which appear to dtand for MAGUa DUBRacuna, or
1 See 8rd Ser., i, 258; 4th Ser., xi, 294; xii, 165 ; 6th Ser., Wil, 98. See also Williams, Solra, Pembrokeshire Antiquities, p. 9.
248 AN tSLANb OF TfiE SAtlJTfi
tlie (tonsured) servant of Dubricius. See Arch. Camh.y 5th Ser., viii, 98.
The Latin inscription is thus given by Sir John Rhys :
Et singno cruds in illam fingsi rogo omnihus ammuLantibus^ ibi exormt pro anima Catv^coni ;
vyrhich he translates ;
And I have provided it with a cross ; I ask all who walk in this place to pray for the soul of Gadwgan,
He would indeed be a bold man who would dare to challenge the deliberately expressed opinion of Sir John Rtiys ; it is right, however, to add that whilst the eminent professor was engaged upon his scrutiny, a messenger came to inform him that the waves were rising rapidly and that he must hurry away. He therefore himself suggests that a good photograph should be taken, with a view presumably to further investigation.
Professor Burkitt had, however, the opportunity of spending a longer time upon the island, and, in a paper read by him on June 7th, 1904, before the Cambridge Philological Society [Proceedings, lxvii,p. 6), he declines to accept the usual transliteration of the first five woixls as given by Sir John Rhys and others. Instead of
Et singno crucis in illam flngA
he would read
•J^ sihgno crucis Ih(u) Iltuti Jingsi,
and would therefore translate
1J4 With the sign of the Cross of Jesus, I, Illtyd, have fashioned (this monuraent).
He refers as an instructive parallel to Enniaun's Cross {A7xh. Camb.y 5th Ser., xvi, 139), which reads
Crux xpi 1J4 enniaun p(ro) anima guorgoret fseit.
^ Professor Borkitt calls attention to this spelling as an interesting instance of Celtic back-assimilation in a Latin word.
AN ISLAND OF THB SAINTS 249
He adds tbat singno cruets in illamfingai cannot be translated " I have placed upon it the sign of the Cross," and makes in fax^ no sense at all.
Now every 'archseologist would certainly be glad to recoeuise the n^me of St. Illtyd on the stone, as well as that of St. Dubricius. The suggested emendation of Professor Burkitt, however, cannot be accepted without full consideration, and 'as a help to this I have
given a photograph, not indeed of the stone, but of a squeeze of it. I may add that whilst I cannot for a moment dare to offer an opinion of my own, yet careful examination of the stone has certainly convinced me that the first word of the inscription is not " et" and further that the " in illam " is, to say the least of it, very doubtful.
1 may also add that Fenton, writing in 1811, tells us that the stone was dug up in the ruins of the Priory "many years ago"; and it appears to have been used successively as a lintel to a window, and as a
250
AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
garden seat. The exact spot^ where it was found is said to have been in front of th« blacksmith's shop which once stood east of the well. It is now in the Priory Chapel. The late Professor Westwood looked
^
/•r-
Caldey Priory
^ An old man of the name of Edward James, bnt who was better known as '' Ned of Caldej," and who died about 1880, is responsible for this statement, which he made to Mr. Morris, mason, of Tenby. He also said, aooording to Mr. Morris, that there were with it other inscribed stones, one of which was for a long time preserved in the basement of the Tower. But these, if^they ever existed, have now disappeared; and I find no mention made of them elsewhere,
▲N ISLAND OF THE SAINTS 251
upon the Latin legend as not later than the ninth, and possibly as early as the seventh century. Professor burkitt, however, sees no valid palaeographical reason to prevent our assigning it to the first half of the sixth century, at which time, as we know, St. Dubric and St. lUtyd were both closely connected with the island.
We now pass to a consideration of the buildings of the Norman Priory. These consisted of a very simple cloister-garth, surrounded in the usual ,way by church, guest-house, refectory, and calefactory or kitchen, with dormitories upon the upper floors. AH these monastic buildings still remain. They were arranged according to the usual Benedictine plan, with the exception that the chapel was upon the south, and not, as was more usual, on the north side of the garth; the entrance porch, however, reminds us of what we find in Norman castles on the mainland rather than of a monastery gate. The entrance was commanded also by a loop- holed staircase on the east side of the garth.
A very special feature of the monastery is the so- called Abbot 8 Tower, which is a battlemented fortalice of military type. It is a rectangular structure, nearly square, the internal measurements being 18 ft. and 15 ft. respectively; and the walls being 4 ft. thick. This tower appears to have been originally meant to stand alone. Now it will be remembered that the island was for a time in the possession of Robert Fitzmartin. It is^ therefore, not improbable that he may have built it for his own protection, and that it was only afterwards that it was incorporated in the monastic buildings. If so, it would be of course the oldest part of the Priory. It consists of a vaulted basement, with a chamber over it, the entrance to the basement being at the south- west corner. The way in which the upper chamber was reached is not so clear. It may have been by a stair- case in a loop-holed turret still existing at the north- east corner. No trace, however, of steps is to be seen, and in monastic times the upper story of this turret
252 AH ISLAND OP THE SAINTS
became a garde-robe. If there be any difference of t^ in the remaining parts of the monastery, those to the east, that is to say the dormitory, the calefactory or kitchen, and the sanctuary, seem to claim priority.
The Priory Tower and QatewKf from the Exterior
The narthex, choir, and sanctuary are, as has been already said, upon the south side of the cloister-garth, and form a church of 73 ft. in external length. The sanctuary, which baa a pointed barrel-vault, is/however, cut off from the other portions of the chapel by a wall, in which no trace of an original arch or opening is to be
AK ISLAND OP THE SA.INTS 253
foimd. This wall may, however, have been rebuilt : it is not easy to date these simple Uraeatoue structures. The north and south walls of the sanctuary are 36 ins,, and the east and west walls 30 ins, thick.
The Pri(.rj- Tower «iid OntewHy from tlie Cloister Garlh
At the western end of the church there is a tower, some 30 ft. in height, surmounted by a rude stone spire of 18 ft. This tower stands on a base which is 12 ft. square, and has fallen westwards out of the perpen- dicular to the extent of 40 ins. The breadth of the nave is 18 ft. externally, but was originally 20 ft.
STBSKft.,TUL. VIII. ii
254 AN ISLAND OP THE SAINTS
or more, the present north wall being modern. The western window dates from the fourteenth century, but may have been a later insertion. Such insertions are common enough in the south of Pembrokeshire. At all events the eastern end of the chapel buildings seems to be of an earlier date. The splays and the hood-moulding of the old east window still remain ; a portion also of the external drip-stone is intact. It is not clear, however, how the opening was filled. The tracery, if any, has long since perished : it may not improbably have been a double lancet.^
Upon the west side of the cloister-garth there is a guest-house, which includes a spacious porch, an ad- joining chamber, probably used for storage, and a chamber overhead, which may at one time have been divided into two. The basement of the guest-house measures 27 ft. by 16 ft. There is a so-called Flemish chimney, and the remains of two good windows looking on to the garth. Upon the inner wall, towards the garth, are pigeon-holes.
Upon the north side of the cloister-garth is the refectory. It is now used as a kitchen, and is 27 ft. square. In Fenton's time it possessed a " very curious arched roof,"^ but this has long since disappeared. Above it is a chamber of the same dimensions, now divided into two. Upon the east side of the cloister- garth there is what is now a scullery, with vaidted barrel roof, once used presumably as calefactory or kitchen, containing as it does the huge monastic
^ Fenton tells ns that '* in the room which from its position most have been the chancel of the Priory Chnrch, the tracery of the great east windov^, thoagh now stopped np, may be followed." (Fenton, A Historical Tour through Pembrokeshire, Ed. 1903, 261.) I am, however, disposed to think that by tracery he meant nothing more than the internal mouldings of the arch, which are still visible.
^ "The present kitchen, which in all probability had been their (sc. the monks') refectory, has a very carioas arched roof, with many intricate odd-shaped doors opening from it, which might have led to the dormitory." (Fenton's Hist, Tour, Ed. 1903, 251.)
AN ISLAND OP THE SAINTS 255
chimney ; whilst over it there is the dormitory, to which access is aflForded by a staircase in the thickness of the east wall of the garth, furnished with loop-holes which command the entrance gateway.
At the north-east corner of the garth is the square embattled tower described above, the upper chamber of which was in monastic times the Prior's lodging, whilst the little loop-holed turret to the north-east was his garde-robe. There is, as was the universal custom in the Benedictine houses, an access for the Prior from his lodging to the dormitory, which enabled him not only to maintain due discipline, but, as his duty was, to call his monks for their night office. There is some reason also to believe that there was a direct descent from the dormitory to the chapel.
The burial-ground, where bones are still to be found in plenty beneath the surface of the soil, lay to the south of the great church. The buildings were clearly planned with a view to defence. Sea-robbers abounded in mediaeval times. St. David s was sacked in 1088 ; Tenby was burnt by Maelgwn in 1186 ; and in much later times the Caldey islanders were forced to plough with horses, rather than with oxen as on the mainland, lest oxen should tempt the rovers' appetites. Above the sanctuary there is a room of uncertain date, and in the south wall of the chapel a piscina ; and there is also a lampstead, that is to say a shelf to carry a flare, with a chimney over it constructed in the thickness of the wall.^. As will be seen from the plan, the walls of the Abbot's Tower, and of the calefactory or kitchen, are from 4 ft. to 4^ ft., those of the sanctuary from 3 ft. to 3^ ft., and the remainder for the most part about 2^ ft. thick ; and we may possibly be justified if we infer accordingly the order in which they were built.
^ These lampsteads are not common. The best examples probably are those given by Mr. Miokletbwaite in the first of the Alcnin tracts, The Ornaments of the Rubric, p. 30, n. 1. He mentions Bnscot, near Lechlade ; Meppershall, Beds. ; Tallington, and Castor, nenr Peterborough,
18 "i
256 AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
Such are the Priory buildings, which are as complete as they are primitive, and yet have not been noticed in detail by any writer with whose works I am acquainted; the reason being probably that imtil recent years the island \wi\s not very accessible, and also that they were themselves obscured by various buildings which have now^ been taken down, and were in use for various other purposes than those for which they had originally been designed ; and, further, that they were encased in in- numerable coats of whitewash and plaster. Indeed, in 1898, when the island came into the possession of the present writer, the sanctuary was a laundry, the choir a disused maltkiln, the entrance-porch a lime-store, and the guest-house a pigeon loft ; the dormitory was divided into bedrooms for the servants, and in the narthex were stored many hundreds of old bottles.
The only other monument of much importance on the larger island is the round tower, now an oratory, which overlooks the Caldey roads. This tower is circular in shape ; its walls are of great thickness ; and it was probably erected by the Norman monks to keep an eye upon the vessels casting anchor in the roads, which for the most part would be hidden from the monastery by the cliflFs. The thickness of the walls would enable it with ease to resist a casual attack.
We are also told on good authority that where the lighthouse stands there was a chapel of the Blessed Virgin. This is referred to by William of Worcester,^
^ William was Bishop of Worcester in the fifteenth centnry ; he went to Oxford in 1431, and wrote aboatl490. In his Ittnerarium (Ed. 1778, p. 155), he sa3^8 :
" Innvda Caldey sequitur proxima SJiepey-iland coram villa Tyribye per unum miliare; continet in longitudine 1 wili'ire^etin latitudine dimidium miliaria^ et est circa 30 domos populatas, et unam turrim, cum capella Sanctoe Marice super maris litiis, ac ecclesia prioratus de Caidey fundata cum amasia swi (sic)." MS. Corp. Cant., 210. The founder's name should foWow fundata, but is omitted in the Corpus MS. The word amasia, which apparently refers to Geva, seems to imply that in the tradition accepted by William of Worcester she was not Martin's lawful wife ; and this may be the ezpiauation of
AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS 257
in an iUoerar}' written about 1490, as " Capella Sancta MaricB super mai-is litxts," and it is also mentioned by Lewis Morris in 1748 in his Plans of Harbours, Bars, etc. No trace of it now remains.'
It will be well to refer to the Archceologia Cam- hrensis, 4th Ser.-, i, 122, for a full description of an alabaster reliquary found by Mr. Corbet Kynaston, then " King of Caldey," in a fissure at the High Cliff Quarries, some seventy years ago, whilst digging out a wild cat which had taken refuge there ; this reliquary was restored to the Priory Chapel by Mrs. Bridger, a
Ai^Mta
The Becumbent Figure found with the Reliijuar;
relative of Mr. Kynaston, in 1901. It is in shape an altar tomb 8 ins. long, with a vertical section of 2^ ins. square, and is surmounted by a recumbent figure which has not at present been identified.
the somewhat strange form of the origin&l deed of ^ft to St. Dogmaela. It is possible, in fact, that Ualdej may bare beea her pieace-oflering to tne Church. la 1603 the island is said to have comprised eicrht or ten hoasebolds oqIt. (Owen's Pemhroketkire
i, p. 111.)
^ The sailiDg directions for finding " Will's Mark," a celebrated fishing groaiid which plays an important part in the history of Fishing Tenby, or Dynbyoh y Pyscod as it was called, were to bring the high hill of Neath on Port Eynon Head, and Caldey Chapel on the old Windmill of Tenby. The point at the LighthooBO U Btill known as Chapel Point.
^58 AN ISLAND OF THE SAlNTS
To whom the old name of the island, Ynys-y-Pyr, refers, we do not know. We may compare it with Maenawn-y-Pyr, now Manorbier, upon the mainland nearly opposite, the one the "island" and the other the *' domain " of Pyr. There is also a little island to the south of Ramsey which in Owen's time was known as Ynys-y-Pyry, and is now marked on the Ordnance Map as Ynys Bery. But who Pyr was we do not know. He may have been " Vortiporis the Protector," mentioned on the Llanfalteg stone, who lived about the year 570 (Williams, Pemb, Ant., p. 17; Arch. Camb., Oct. 1895 ; Rhys, Lectures on Welsh Philology, Ed. 1879, p. 376). He may even have been Piro, the first Abbot of Caldey. But we do not know. The local names upon the island which invite attention are Capha Dilly Stack, Small Ord Point, Spur (i.e., Cormorant) Island, Drinkim and Bullum s Bays, and Daniel's Den. In the names of Jones' Park and Bay there is commemorated also the connexion with the island of Paul Jones,^ the scourge of the British coasts in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
The names of the neighbouring islands of St. Mar- garet and St. Catherine link together these two saints, as we also find them linked together in the Liber Landavensis and elsewhere.
It only remains to notice very briefly what we find on the adjacent island of St. Margaret. There are there certain ecclesiastical remains ; but in the nineteenth century they were converted into cottages for quarry- men, so that they are now not easy to interpret, nor can
^ He seems to have been in the habit of watering on the island, when in the neighboarhood ; the supply of water was excellent, and at the back of the island in *' Jones' Bay '* he woald be hidden from the Tenby coastguard. *' He was a man," says Laaghton (Studies of Naval History, p. 365), " of distinguished talent and originality, a thorough seaman, and of the most determined and tenacious courage." At the early age of thirty-three he was the hero both of the Old World and the New. Had he not died in 1792, when he was only forty- five. Lord Nelson himself might, as Napoleon said to Berthier in 1805, have found in him a worthy antagonist.
AN ISLAND OF THfiS SA1^TS
259
we assign a date to them. The western chamber has, however, in its doorway and interior corbels some faint indications of departed splendour ; and one of Norris' sketches, to be seen in the Free Library at Cardiff, shows in the chamber marked in our plan *' Refectory," a traceried window of some pretensions.
OLD WALLS
MODERN WALLS
Ruined Buildings on St. Margaret's Inland
XXX Corbels in Wall ; A. Narrow Entrance (formerly with pointed arch) ; B. Round Chimney, probably modem ; C. Round Chimney, probably old ; D. Window, with Tracery in Norris' drawing
There are also two round chimneys, one of which appears to be old, one new. These buildings probably bore to the Norman Priory somewhat the same relation which the Priory itself bore to the mother house of St. Dogmaels. It was, in fact, a cell.
260 AN ISLAND OF THE SAINTS
Such, then, is Caldey Island, richer it may be in its monastic remains than in the multiform activities of modern life ; but whilst the human race is ruled, as it is and ever will be ruled, by sentiment, imagination, and religion, whilst all that most enriches it is due, as it is largely due, to the efforts and the prayers of those who have passed behind the veil, such memories will still remain a power, none more eflTectual, to inlluence and mould our lives.
Thanks are due to F. C. Burldtt, Esq,, Norrisian Professor of Divinity in the University of Camhridgey to the Rev. Father Aelred, O.S.B., and to the Rev. Father Jerome^ for permission to reproduce photo- graphs and plans.
261
ANTIQUITIES ON THE SANDHILLS
AT
MERTHYR MAWR, GLAMORGANSHIRE
By M. EV ANSON, B.Sc., Rector of Merthyr Mawr
Therh; is a cluster of objects of archseological interest on the top of Merthyr Mawr Sandhills which have
CREMATORIUM"*
CROSS
Fig. 1. — Merthyr Mawr: Relative positions of Cist, Crematorium, and
Cross to Windmill
come to light within recent years, and which have not been described in the Archceologia Cambrensis or any other journal. The objects consist of —
1. A three-step Calvary of a Cross ;
2. A Crematorium (?) ;
3. And a Cist.
262 ANTlQC;iTIK8 ON THE RANDBtLLH At
Their relative positions with reference to the windmill which forms a conspicuous landmark on the crest of the sandhills are: (1) The cross lies 57 deg. east from north at a distance of 163 yds. 1 ft ; and (2) the cist, 38 deg. east from south at a distance of 56 yds. ; and (3) the crematoiium lies 6 deg. 45 min. south of east,
Fig. 2.— Saodhill Croas, Uertljjr Umvit
and 42 yds. 2 ft. distant from the cist. It is also 45 yds. from the windmill, as shown in the appended diagram, which is not drawn to scale (Fig. 1, p. 261).
The remains of the cross came into sight in the year 1897, by the drifting away of a high sandhill which covered it from the sight and recollection of everyone (Fig. 2). The lower step is nearly complete all round : half the second is intact; but the third step is entirely
MEBTHYR MAWB, GLAMORGANSHIRE 263
gone. The base, which ia a large cubical block with one face having the edges chamfered and two concentric circular mouldings surrounding a circular socket about 3 ins. deep, which contaius the remains of an iron dowel embedded in lead, lies near by. The stone used isthe well-known "Sutton" stone, which outcrops a
Fig. 3,— cut, Uertbyr Mawr
short distance from this spot. The stones are well dressed, and show very little of the effects of wear or weathering, which indicates that they were covered for a long period. Jbere were also two other such crosses within half a mile of this : one at a known spot called " Pant-y-Groes," whose base was similar to the base just described ; and another, at a spot not now known, whose base was similar to that of the churchyard cross.
264
AKTlQtJlTIES ON THE SANDHILLS AT
Both the latter, which have been removed, formed boundarv marks, aa possibly did the fii'St described.
About Christmas, 1904, Mr. W. Rilej, Newcastle House, Bridgend, observed a large stone slab 56 yds. south of the windmill, and removed it. It proved to be the cover of a perfectly- preserved cist, which was a bowl-shaped cavity in the ground, slightly elongated, lined with stones laid on the flat (Fig. 3, p. 263). The measurements, taken by Mr. Arthur G. Edwards,
Fig. 4. — CrenKtoriuin, H«rth;r Uswr
architect, Bridgend, were 3 ft. 4 ins. long, and 2 ft. 10 ins. wide inside the orifice. It tapered towards the bottom, and was 2 ft. 3 ins. deep. It contained calcined human bones, a smalt bronze dagger, and, on a shelf at one of the elongated ends, near the top, a small earthen- ware food-va.se or drinking-cup.
To the east of this cist, and nearly the same distance from the windmill, Mr. Riley, about the same time, discovered and opened a small tumulus and laid bare a very remarkable structure. It is a saucer-shaped con-
HEBTHYR MAWB, GLAMOSOAMSHIBE 265
struction of atone and earth, the orifice elliptical in form, and at each end of the long axis there are two flues (Fig. 4 and Sketch). It measures 14 ft. 1 in. long over all, 6 ft. 1 in. inside measure, and 5 ft. 5 ins. wide. The walls are 1 ft. 6 ins. thick, and 1 ft. 9 ins, high. The long axis lies 20 deg. north-west and south-east. Calcined limestone, charcoal, marl, baked earth, and sand composed the material of the mound which covered it. Its nearness to the cist containing
the calcined human bones promptly suggested it to be a crematorium, and if that is so, the bronze dagger in- dicates its age. This is Mr. Riley's opinion. The cynic who retorted that it wus also near a windmill, and that it may have been a "drying-kiln" for grain, would find it hard to account for its occurrence in a tumulus. It does not appear in any way unsuitable for crema- tion, and it would seem such an operation would be quite practical)le. The accompanying photograph and tlie drawing which is by Mr. Edwards, give full details of its appearance and construction.
As all these objects are liable at any time to be
266 ANTIQUITIES AT MERTHYR MAWR
covered over by sand-drifts, it seemed desirable to give their exact relative positions, so that there may be no diflficulty at any future time in that event in locating them. The correction for magnetic deflection has in every instance been made, so that the directions given are "true," and the distances, in Fig. 1, are from the outside of the windmill.
267
GLAZED PEBBLES IN AN OLD BUILDING NEAR LLANBEDR, MERIONETHSHIRE.
By C. E. BREESE.
Visiting Llanbedr — a village lying between Harlech and Barmouth — in the spring of the year 1906, I was shown some pebbles covered with a curious and pretty coating of glaze. I was told they had been picked up by some lads whilst playing amongst the ruins of an old building. I was also shown the nether stone of a quern, of the bee-hive pattern, which had been dis- covered within a few feet of the same building about a year previous,
I was directed to the building, which occupied a site on the hills to the north of Llanbedr, and was within a few hundred yards of Penrallt. The building pre- sented the appearance of being nothing more than a heap of ruins, showing faint traces of its original form, but completely filled in, and almost covered over with soil and stones. It stood in the middle of a small plantation, and two trees, of some seventy years' growth, had found root within the building itself.
I obtained permission from Mr. John Humphreys, the owner, to explore the place, and I set to work in May and continued intermittently throughout the summer and autumn of 1906.
The building is oblong in form, with rectangular corners, occupying the summit of an elevated mound, about 400 ft. above sea level, about two miles from the sea, encircled at the top by the remnants of a walled enclosure having a circumference of about 150 yards.
The field adjoining used to be known as " Cae pen y bryn Eglwys" (the field at the top of the Church Hill), and local tradition associates the ruins with the site of an old church. The orientation of the building
268 GLAZED PEBBLES TN AN OLD BUILDING
supports the theory of its sacred purpose, for it lies due east and west. Measured from within, it is 34 ft. 6 ins. by 15 ft. 10 ins. The walls are 3 ft. in thickness, and as disclosed, after clearing away the debris, their present height is 3 ft. 6 ins. from the foundation.
I started to explore the interior by removing the stones, and then proceeded to dig out the soil at the eastern end. At the outset I found specimens of the glazed pebbles, and they continued to be thrown up in very considerable quantities to a depth of 3 ft. Gradually the walls were laid bare, and they presented an even surface. There were few indications of the stones of the wall being mortared or kept in position by any interlaying substance, but fragmentary por- tions of mortar were found. At the east end the wall had a projecting ledge about 1 ft. in width on either side of a central embrazure, 7 ft. in length. Two feet below the ledge referred to I found another one of equal width, well and evenly laid. The stones of which the ledges were formed gave no appearance of having been tooled, but were roughly hewn and were of no great bulk.
At a uniform depth of about 2 ft. I came across large pieces of flat slabs, but they were not sufficiently connected to enable me to conclude that they repre- sented the flooring of the building, and it is possible that they served for roofing purposes, though I incline to their use for the floor rather than for the roof, owing to the absence of nail holes.
The glazed pebbles I found throughout the whole interior of the building to the number of several hundreds.
The entrance is on the north side, about 6 ft from the north-west corner. It is marked by a large flag- stone, and is 2 ft. 10 ins. in width. A larch tree had grown up through a portion of the entrance, and embedded in the root of the tree I found a curiously- shaped glazed substance, of gem-like brilliance. At
HEAR LLANBBDB, MBRI0NETH8HIBE 269
other points I secured a Bmall bone and a lump of vitrified metal, the latter having one of the glazed pebbles attached to it, a small piece of glazed pottery, of greenish hue, which has the appearance of having formed part of the handle of a jug, and a stone clearly fashioned and roughly moulded in a shape somewhat resembling a horse's saddle. A few oyster and other marine shells, pieces of burnt clay and calcined wood were also brought to light. The prevailing colour of the soil was that of a light loam, and near the eastern end the soil was strongly impregnated with wood ashes.
One of the glazed pebbles shows lines upon it in the form of squares or crosses, and these are apparently not accidental. Not a single one of the larger stones had any symptom of glaze upon it, and upon very minutely exploring the ground on the outside of the building, I failed to discover a single specimen of the glazed pebbles.
A somewhat peculiar and unusual feature about the building consists in its ground or floor slope, the eastern portion being fully 2 ft. above the level of the western end. As a result of recent excavations conducted by Mr. Herbert Southam, F.S.A., at Haughmond Abbey, near Shrewsbury, it has been found that the church there possessed a floor rising some 10 ft. from the west to the east end.
Acting upon the suggestion of the late Mr. Romilly Allen, F.S. A., to whom I reported my discovery, I sent a full account of the building, together with samples of the glazed pebble^ and other " finds" to Dr. D. Christison, the Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries, Scot- land, and he, as well as Dr. J. Anderson, F.S. A., the Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities, Edin- burgh, has been good enough to express his views concerning the " finds/' and the building in which they were found. Dr. Christison wrote : —
'* The rectangular form of the building is at least presumptive proof that it is not of pre-historic age. The ' finds/ 1 should say,
6th beb., yoL> vui. 19
270 GLAZRD PEBBLES IN AN OLD BUILDING
are mediaeval. The glaze on the fragment of the handle of a vessel has the greenish-yellowish hue peculiar to mediaeval pottery, and the glazed pebbles are probably of the same date. These pebbles are an important discovery, as Dr, Ander- son, the Keeper of the Museum, informs me that it is only the third instance of such a * find.' In one case they were discovered within the Chapel of St. Blaine, near Rothesay, when excavated by the late Marquess of Bute, some years ago. They were found, exactly like yours, in great numbers, scattered through the soil, of much the same size, and all more or less glazed. Being found in an undoubted chapel, their compara- tively modern origin seems certain, and by analogy the same conclusion may be drawn as to yours.
'' The other instance was, not of pebbles, but of a single stone, ' encrusted with glass,' found at an old glass kiln near Elgin. This points to the influence of heat in glazing the pebbles, but why this should take place in a church, and produce this particular effect on many pebbles scattered over a large space in area and depth of soil, remains an archaeological puzzle.
" There is nothing in any of your specimens resembling what we know as vitrifaction. The pretty, smooth, shining black mass I should call slag, probably of iron, like the lump of metaL The adhesion of one of the glazed pebbles to the latter is accidental ; no glazed pebbles occur in any of our numerous specimens of vitrifaction. The finding of shells may indicate their use as a flux in the fusion of some metal within the building. I do not think I can say more unless to suggest having the metallic shining mass analysed. We will gladly accept and add your pebbles to the National Collection here (Edinburgh), and the other articles will be returned to you in a few days."
Dr. Anderson wrote : —
" I have been much interested in the glazed pebbles, etc., which you sent to Dr. Christison from a ruined building at Llanbedr. They remind hie of certain glazed pebbles which I found many years ago in the clay floor of St. Blaine's Chapel (a Norman building) in Bute. They greatly excited my curiosity at the time, but as I could never discover any record of anything similar, I could not explain their nature or purpose. I am glad to hear from Dr. Christison that the building at Llanbedr lies east and west, and may thus be an early chapeL The large mass of black, shining matter is apparently iron slag, and there is a mass of apparently partially reduced bog (?) iron ore among your specimens. The crossed scratches on one of the pebbles are
NEAR LLANBBDR, MERIONETHSHIRE 271
undoubtedly intentional, t am quite unable to offer any solution of the intention or nature of the pebbles with the glaze. The pottery is not very early — not earlier, I think, than the thirteenth century.
Writing latfer, Dr. Anderson said : —
"Since writing you on the subject of the glazed pebbles, I remembered that we have two collections of them in our Museum besides those I mentioned which I found myself in the floor of St. Blaine's Chapel. These, unfortunately, I do not appear to have kept. On comparing the two lots we have here with those you sent I find they are so like that if they got mixed it would be impossible to tell which was which. The one lot of 9 pebbles is described as having been found by Mr. William Galloway in the mortar of the Chapel of Kilchattan, Colonsay; and the other lot of 13 pebbles as having been found by him in the west front of the old chapel in the Island of Oransay. This suggests the inquiry whether the being in the mortar might not have produced the glaze upon them ?"
Professor Boyd Dawkins, to whom I had an oppor- tunity of showing the " finds/' agreed generally with the views expressed concerning them by Drs. Christison and Anderson, though in reference to the pebble with lines upon it, he thought it probable that they were natural marks denoting the cleavage of the stone. The Professor suggested the possibility of the building having been one of the early chapels similar in form and size to the " Treem" chapels of the Isle of Man. He considered the glazed pebbles as of great interest and archseological importance. He had, himself, never seen anything of the kind before.
As to the building itself, I think I may fairly deduce from the facts before me that in form and orientation it assimilates to that of a church. Its position within a clearly defined circular enclosure, the significance of the place name, the similarity of the floor slope with that of the church at Haughmond Abbey, and the discovery of glazed pebbles in other undoubted chapels, all tend to support the idea of its sacred character.
It is true that no specific mention of the existence of a church on this site, which can be strictly identified,
19 «
272 QhAZKD PEBBLES NEAR LLANBBDE
is to be found in the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas, but that record deals with churches probably only then (1291) utilised for religious worship.
The nature of the glaze on the pebbles : Whether such glaze was the accidental result of the reduction by heat of some metallic substance within the building, or if the presence of the glaze upon the pebbles was consequent upon an intentional process for the purpose of ornamentation, is difficult to decide ; but having regard to the entire absence of glaze upon any of the stones comprising the structure itself, and the complete covering of each and every pebble with the glaze, I favour the conclusion that these pretty things were deliberately coated for the specific purpose of affording ornamentation to some portion of the interior of the edifice. This conclusion is further strengthened by the discovery of similar pebbles in the Scottish chapels above referred to, and whilst fully admitting the possibility of the glaze being due to an accidental occurrence, the absence of any recorded discovery of similar articles upon the sites of buildings devoted to secular purposes, which may have been subjected to the influences of heat, is at least negative evidence confirmatory of my view. However, the most conclu- sive argument in favour of the deliberate process of glazing these pebbles lies in the fact of my not having found a single specimen of an ordinary unglazed pebble within or without the building.
273
THE TOWN OF HOLT, IN COUNTY.
DENBIGH:
ITS CASTLE, CHURCH, FRAKCHISB, AND DEMESNE
Bt ALFRED NEOBARD PALMER (Ckmtinued from pagt 182.)
CHAPTER v.— SOME HOLT HOUSES AND FAMILIES
In Chapter III especially, and incidentally in other chapters, a great deal has been said about various important families connected with Holt, as the Crues of Holt Hill, the Powells, the Pates, etc., and con- cerning the houses in which they lived.
As to those last named, something further may now be recorded. The thatched house of the Pates still stands, but converted into a farm-house, on the ri^ht- hand side of the Wrexham Road, as one enters Holt, directly opposite Ainsdale. There is a boundary wall in the front of it, above the gate^ of which is a stone, whereon may still be read
p
T E
1683
These initials, which are placed on a shield, probably stand for Thomas and Eleanor Pate. '' Mrs. EUinor Pate, late wife of Thomas Pate, gent.," was buried at Holt, November 28, 1691. The place still belongs to Mr. Thomas Pate Stevens, whose grandfather, Moses Stevens, married Miss Mary Pate, of Holt, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Pate. In the garden is an eight-sided stone shaft which formerly supported a sun-
^ This ffateway was taken down in the early part of 1908, after the MS. of the present chapter was sent to press*
274 tHB TOWN Otf HOLT,
dial, the brass whereof is gone. There is also a square stone vase, forming the top of a pillar ; the vase, which is used as a flower-pot, has on one of its sides the letters i. B. and A. B., and the date 1668. Probably another branch of the Pates owned some other house in Holt, for there are in my possession notes of a case tried in 1832, wherein the will of Elizabeth Pate, spinster, formerly of St James' Palace, but afterwards of Great Portland Street, in the County of Middlesex, is mentioned. The date of the will is not given, but the testatrix had left about £13,000 in the Bank of England, and a freehold estate in Holt, yielding £37 yearly, and bequeathed a large sum of money to her sister, Margaret Manning, widow of Richard Manning, apothecary, of Wrexham, with remainder to Richard Pate Manning, the only child of the said Margaret Manning. Mrs. Manning survived her sister, received her portion of Miss Elizabeth Pate's bequests, and was dead at the time of the enquiry in 1832. The son, Richard Pate Manning, a surgeon at Whitchurch, Shropshire, being then twenty-eight years of age, shot in a duel there, in October 1799, Captain Thomas Jones of Willow House, Wrexham. He was fined 6s. 8d., and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, but after- wards became hopelessly insane, and was removed in 1812 to an asylum at Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancashire, whence he never issued, but died there March 1, 1850, at the advanced age of seventy-eight. Mr. Charles Poyser, of Wrexham, at the enquiry above named, deposed that he was one of the cousins german once removed, and one of the next-of-kin of the said Richard Pate Manning, and intended administrator of the goods left unadministered by Elizabeth Pate for Richard Pate Manning's use. Who were the parents of Elizabeth Pate and Margaret Manning it is now diflScult to decide with any certainty.
It is believed that the house of the Speeds of Holt, once a very influential family in the borough, was the last in Wrexham Road> on the same side as the Pate
IN COUNTY DENBIGH
275
house, next " the Intak." It is of red brick, and has its front covered with ivy. I am told that under this ivy ia a coat of arms.
As to Croes locyn [locyn's Cross), now called " Holt Lodge," all has been told that is known to me about it on p. 154 of my Historif of the Ancient Country Tovm- ships of the old parish of Wrexham, except that it was assessed to the hearth tax in 1670 for seven
Cornish Hall {From ap/iotograph by Mr, H. H. Jokn*ton)
hearths, assessed higher, that is, than any other house in the town and franchise.
Cornish Hall was assessed in the same year for six hearths only, although one would expect it to have contained more, and the present house, of which a representation is here given^ was then certainly in existence, and appears to have been built in the middle part, or, say, the fourth decade, of the seventeenth century, at the latest. The oak staircase inside almost exactly resembles that at Ltoran Issa, in the parish of
276 THE TOWI^ OF riOL*,
r
LlansiUu, illustrated by Mr. Harold Hughes in Arch. Camh., 1898, pp. 168 and 169. Most of the out- buildings. appear to be contemporary with the hall. We search in vain Nordens Survey of 1620 for any reference to this house. "The Cornish/' the older name for the place/ is indeed named in that survey, but at that time designated a district only. George Bostocke, Esq., had then, among other lauds, ** Thirtie foure Acres of land in a place called Cornishe/' and Randolph Hutchins ** in Hugmore and Cornish " 26j acres of land. But Norden describes several large holdings, with mansion houses thereon built, without giving them a name or indicating precisely their situation. However, the Hall, as it now stands, has apparently the date just ascribed to it. In 1620, no one bearing the name of Peck was resident anywhere in Holt, or owned land within its limits. And although great pains have been taken to ferret out the facts, it has hitherto been found quite impossible to discover from whom the Pecks purchased the main portion of the existing Cornish Hall estate, or whether, at the date of purchase, the Hall was already erected^ The deeds belonging to the present owner are quite recent The Pecks seem to have come into Bromfield about the date of the Civil War, or of the times immediately preceding it. As already said, the name " Peck " does not occur in the list of freeholders of Holt given in Norden's Survey of 1620. The first member of the family found mentioned as resident in this district was " John Peck, gent," who was steward of the Trevor estate, and as such lived at Trevalyn Hall, Sir John Trevor being frequently absent on business of state, or preferring PUs T6g as his head-quarters in Wales. He was already a magistrate for county Denbigh in the early part of 1649. In a local cavalier ballad, dated 1647, he is satirized as ** S' Spruce," and as
^ A William le Cotiiish is mentioned in the thirteenth year of Edward III as though he were resident within the lordship of Bromfield.
|, 00. STAFFORD,
i
B. stands for Burke. H. R. H. stand for H. U. Hughes, Esq., of Kinmel. H. P. stand for Dr. Herbert Peck.
I I i I
Nicholas. John. Dorothy. Qrace.
All living in 1585 [B. and H. R. H.]
lleanor
'{1) Richard Jones of Weston Rhyn, oo. Salop ; died 20 Feb., 1660.
Susanna Jones, died unmarried, and buried at Oresfurd, 30 April, 1674.
ig., 1668. T^T^it., 1671. 5?^^l tie, 1672;
**^* ig., 1677. b., 167f
7 other daughters.
Jasp
Mrs. Jane Peck, buried at Holt, 12 Nov., 1686.
John Peck, H!sq., buried at Holt, 7 Feb., 169f .
Mr. John Lea of Holywell parish, and Mrs. Eliza- beth Peck, married at Gresford, ... Nov., 1697.
!rl ; died unmarried ; buried at Holt, 22 Jan., 1763. buried there, 19 Oct., 1699.
fed unmarried, 29 Dec., 1764, and buried at Holt. and buried at Holt, 21 Nov., 1782.
I 7apt. William Peck of East India Company's Service ;
-J hn f ^^^^ ^^ ^"^•' ^^^^' ^^ ^^ * buried at Holt. — -Cathi — Maryi
pie, London ; last will , leaving his Denbigh-
Rev. Kenrick Peck.=T=
irton.
Rev. Jasper Peck.=f=
Kenrick Peck, of Middle Temple, Barrister, and of Old Rectory, Bathampton Park, Bath ; died , 1907.
h
e e
» s
n
n
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a
s, >f
i-
y
a
it
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'd
ij
i<
id le in
6, d. at id le
276
Liar. Gwrty buil( We refer nam< but Bost four< £aDC acres holdi givin situa appa one 1: inH. great Has 1 from the c date deeds Th thed prece Dot o Nord famib "Job estate Trevo or pn He w the e dated
1 A
Ed wan Bromfii
m COtJNllr DENBIGH 277
helping to " eate a Committy feast." He was, in fact, a most active member of the Parliamentary party, or of the moderate wing of it, dunng the Commonwealth epoch, and approved, on February 18, 16f^, one of the sequestrators for North Wales. He appears to have been a supporter of the Parliament on political rather than on doctrinal grounds, and after Oliver Cromwell's death, to have favoured the Restoration. He was son of Jasper Peck, of Copley Hall, near Hudderafield ; married Rachel, daughter of John Proctor, of London, and had, besides two sons, John and Jasper, a daughter, Eleanor or Ellen, all three of whom married. John Peck, the elder, the Parliamentarian, lived, as has been said, at Trevalyn Hall, but had already, very probably, acquired the Cornish estate, letting it in part to a farmer, for Cornish Hall was one of those large houses, once so common in this district, in which one part of the building was occupied by the owner, or his resi- dential tenant, and the other part by the actual farmer of the lands. He was evidently owner of the property on February 4, 165f , as the following summary of a deed, seen by me, shows : Between Thomas Niccoe, of the town of Lyons, alias Holt, yeoman, of the firat part, and John Peck, of AUington, gont., of the other part. Thomas Niccoe, in consideration of £48 to him paid, grants, aliens and sells to John Peck those two parcels of land within '* the ffranchisse" of the town of Lyons, alias Holt, containing by estimation three old acres of land called the ** The Three Acre," adjoininj the land of the said John Peck on the east, the lan( of Thomas Humberaton, gent., on the west, the land of Sir John Trevor, knight, on the north, and a lane called *' the ffranchisse lane " [now Francis Lane] on the south.
Mr. John Peck, of Allington, senior, died March 16, 166 J, aged sixty -seven, and was buried at Gresford. Soon after, died his widow, Rachel, and I have seen at St. Asaph the copy of her will, which was dated August 27, 1663, and proved July 9, 1666. The
278 THE TOWN OF HOLt,
exordium is unusually long and pious. She speaks of her mother " juinville " [the name is not clear], of her sister, Salladine, of her cousin, Richard Massie of Coddington, and of Mary his wife [who was one of the daughters of Captain Roger Myddelton, of PlflpS Cadwgan, Bershara], She gives her freehold lands in Burton, called " The Golleys," to her grandchild, John Peck, son of her son John Peck, and to his lawful issue, or, in default, to his father, her son. The children — Thomas Huetson and . Ellinor Huetson — of her daughter [in-law ?] Christian Peck, are also named. The testatrix gives further to her other son, Jasper Peck, £40; to Lydia his wife, £10; to John Peck, eldest son of Jasper, £20 ; and £50 to be divided among the rest of Jasper s children. She bequeaths her messuage and lands in Weston Rhyn, lately pur- chased from Hugh Hughes and Thomas Jones, gents., to her granddaughter, Susanna Jones, and her lawful issue, provided she marry with the consent of her uncle [? great uncle], John Peck, and, in default, to John Peck, elder son of testatrix. To be buried at Gresford or Holt. Son, John Peck, to be executor and residuary legatee. Her cousins, Roger Massie aforesaid, and Richard Aston, of Chester, gent., to be supervisors.
John Peck, junior, elder son of John Peck, senior, by Rachel his wife, followed, it may be presumed, his father, as head of the Cornish family, but no clear account can be given of him, there being in 1663 three contemporary John Pecks of this family, and the Gresford and Holt registers at this date and for some time afterwards being in a somewhat unsatisfactory condition. In the Index to Chester Wills, there is recorded the administration under date 1665 of "John Pecke, Allington," and I once called at the Chester Probate Court to see this administration in the hope that some distinct evidence might be afforded as to which John Peck was indicated, but the document could not be found. The ** John Pecke, Esq.," buried at Holt on Februaiy 7, 169^, was probably the eldest
m COUNTt DENBIGH 279
son of Mr. Jasper Peck, although in the pedigree, for want .of certainty, I have made the last-named to be succeeded directly by his younger son, Jasper. In any case, the Jasper Peck who died in 1688, followed ultimately his father, John Peck, senior, both as agent to the Trevalyn estate and at Cornish.
A large amount of time has been expended in com- piling from the Holt and Gresford registers, and from other sources, the annexed abbreviated Peck pedigree, which has been somewhat extended by Dr. Herbert Peck, of Chesterfield, who has also worked through the Holt registers, and copied the inscriptions in Holt Church, as well as those at Templecombe. To Dr. Peck I take this opportunity of oflforing my thanks.
At the time of the tithe assessment in 1843, a little over 300 acres of land in Holt belonged to the Pecks, who had long ceased to live at Cornish, and had property elsewhere. Many changes were made in the Hall wnen it was repaired and " restored " a few years ago. Mr. Philip Richardson Peck sold the Cornish Hall estate in July, 1880, to Mr. John Churton, who resold it in 1891 to Mr. James Tomlinson, the tenant. Mr. Tomlinson died February 13, 1903, aged fifty. Templecombe was also sold by Mr. P. W. R. Peck.
It would almost seem as though in 1620 there was no house at Ridley Wood. All tnat is said about the
Slace in Norden's Survey is this : — " The same [Roger Loydon, Esq.] holdeth one parcell of land called Ridley wood conteyning 23 [customary, or nearly 49 statute] acres late the landes of Launcelot Aldford," and there is a memorandum that these were ancient freehold lands, but then held by lease.
However, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Mr. Samuel Hignett owned Ridley Wood, in Holt, and had his house tnere. By his will, dated April 1, 1706, he bequeathed to the meeting-house now represented by the Congregational Chapel, Chester Street, Wrex- ham, £150 ; to the meeting-house now represented by the Baptist Chapel, Chester Street, Wrexham, a
260 THE TOWN Of HOLt,
like sum ; to the poor of Matthew Henry's Chapel, Chester, JBIOO ; to the poor of the parish of Holt a rent charge; and his house, lands, goods and chattels to his servant, Hannah Kandles, whose descendants, the Joneses of Ridley Wood, until lately enjoyed them. Mr. Hignett was buried, March, l70f, in the orchard adjoining his house, and around his grave was built a red brick square enclosure, with an arched entrance in one of its walls, all which enclosure still stands, although requiring much repair. Within is Mr. Hig- nett's gravestone, having the following inscription in capital letters on it : '* Here lyeth the body of Mr. Samuel Hignett, mariner, who died the first day of March, 1707, and was buried in this plBce on the third day of the same month according to his own will and appointment." In one of the bedrooms is a beautiful old carved four-posted bedstead, of Jacobean type, and elsewhere in the house a fine old chest of apparently the same date. For the Joneses of Ridley Wood see the list of mayors of Holt appended to Chapter IV.
It remains now to speak of Red Hall, otherwise known as ** Plas Bostock," at the western end of Common Wood. The first time I find Plas Bostock mentioned is in the will of George Bostocke (dated April 3, 1663), wherein he describes himself as of " Plas Bostock within the Liberties of Lyons als. Holt, esquire." But it is not absolutely certain that he owned what is now known as such, or lived there. His father and predecessor, George Bostocke, the elder, Esquire, lived undoubtedly in the town of Holt, and William Batha, in 1620, appears to have had the house now represented by Red Hall. However, it is not fit to dogmatize on this point, in the absence of distinct evidence, and not having seen the old deeds. About the middle of the eighteenth century a family surnamed ** Jones" lived at Red Hall, and apparently owned it. The Rev. C. A. Wighton, vicar of Holt, married, in 1806, Catherine Jones of this place and took up his abode at the Hall, or farmed the land belonging tp
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 281
it. But before this, on May 18, 1780, John Matthews, Esq., of Eyarth, and' attomey-at-law of Wrexham, married Mary Jones, and lived for a time at Bed Hall, which came ultimately to the Matthews family. A daughter, Eleanor, of the above-named Mr. John Matthews, by Mary, his wife, was baptized at Holt on September 25, 1789, and at this time her father is described in the parish register as of " Plas Bostock," which has long been the name encouraged by the owners, while " Red Hall " is the popular name. I have said in my History of the Town of Wrexham^ pp. 97 and 175, that Mr. John Matthews' wife was a daughter of William Jones, Esq., of Wrexham Fechan, and there is a great deal of evidence pointing to the correctness of that statement, but I have since felt that the evidence is not conclusive. Assuming it to be so, the Matthews derived Red Hall from the Joneses of Wrexham Fechan, the Joneses perhaps obtaining it as the heirs of the Powells of Horsley. But this sugges- tion is thrown out as a clue merely. In any case, Eleanor, daughter of John and Mary Matthews, before mentioned, married, on March 14, 1828, the late Sir William Henry Palmer, Bart., of Castle Lacken, county Mayo ; while her sister, Frances, married, on November 23, 1820, at Wrexham, the Rev. Nathaniel Roberts, son of the Rev. William Roberts, rector of Selattyn and of Whittington. The Rev, Nathaniel RobeiiB acquired Cefn in Abenbury, and left it, with other property, to his wife, who survived him, and still had it in 1843, bequeathing the estate to her nephew, the present Sir Roger William Palmer, Bart., of Cefn. Sir Koger W. H. Palmer, either directly or indirectly, through the late Mr. Heniy Humphreys, sold the Red Hall property to Mr. John Sheppard of Holt, deceased, whose son, Mr. John Thomas Sheppard, is the present owner and occupier. In 1843, the farm is described as containing about 105 acres.
Holt Hall in Church Street is a good old house, not wanting in dignity, which dates apparently from the
282
THE TOWN OP HOLT,
seventeenth century. But the first owner whose name can at present be given with certainty is Mr. Owen Dodd, who had before lived at the Bryn, Ridley, and at Sutton Green, Isycoed. He married, February 5, 1795, Margaret, one of the daughters of Mr. Peter Poole, of The Bryn, and erected a brewery and kiln next Holt Hall (which are now converted into cottages). From him the house passed to Mrs. Christian Smith, who devised it to Mr. Peter Mitchell. Owen Dodd was buried at Holt, January 10, 1838, aged 76. The wall screen, containing an uppermost tier of functionless windows, was blown down in a gale at the end of 1879. There has already, in Chapter II, been given a full list of the tenants of Holt in the 23rd year of Henry VII and 4th year of Elizabeth, and in Chapter III a full list of those in 1620, and it may be well to present now the names of those who were assessed for hearth tax in 1670, omitting the names of those who had fewer than three hearths in their houses :
HlARTin.
Howell Lloyd, gent. [Croes locyn] . .7
Mr. Pecke [Cornish Hall] . .6
George Olubbe [perhaps rlas BostockJ .6
Mr. Jeffryes, Minister [The VicarageJ . 6
Charles Bradshaw . . . . .5
Mr. William Speed [William Speed, gent., bur** at
Holt, October 19, 16891 . . . . 4
Mr. Tho : Crew [see Ch. IIll • . . .4
Mr. Tho : flfoster [see Ch. Ill] .4
Mr. William Pate [see Oh. nil 4
Mr. Tho : Wright [see Ch. Ill] . .4
Walter Gardiner and Widd. Speed .4
Edward Ledsam .4
Samuell Davies [gent., bur** at Holt, December 22,
1675] 3
Mr. Robert Bostocke [see Ch. Ill] .3
Tho : Buckley .3
Tho : ap Edward .3
Theophilus Hanmer [gent., buried at Holt, October 27,
16831 ...... 3
Robert Whitbye .3
Roger Andrewes . . . .3
The only one of these names on which comment need
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 283
be made is that of Charles Bradshaw, who died on January 27, 167f, and was buried at Holt two days after. He is described in the register as ** Charles Bradshaw, senior," so that the " Charles Bradshaw, Esq.," who is mentioned after his death, was perhaps his son. The last-named was buried at Holt October 13, 1698. I have seen his will, made on October 6, 1698, in which he leaves his estate to Elizabeth, his wife, to pay his debts, under the oversight of his son-in-law, Mr. Thomas Robinson ; Mary, the wife of the said Mr. Robinson, and testator's friend, Thomas Edgworth ; the remainder after death of the testator s wife, who was to have his capital messuage, and her jointure, to his son Charles ; £300 were also left to his daughter Jane, and £5 to the poor of Holt.
284
laebtetDfit anti ssiotitt& of Sook&
Gleanii^qs ArrER Time : Ohaptebs in Social and Domestic His- tory. Edited by G. L. Apperson. Introdaction + 230 pp. Illastrated. 6$, net. London : Elliot Stock.
Tbis is a most nseful compilation, reprinted in attractive form, consisting of articles which appeared in the earlier volames of The Antiqtiarp, They are wisely, as we think, rescaed from com- parative oblivion, as being papers contributed by writers of anthority on their sabject, which throw light on various aspects of the social and domestic life of bygone centuries. This is a side of archieolo- gical study and ]*eaearch which, while it has always possessed a fascination for the general reader, deserves attention also from the professed antiquary.
One treatise in particular, which is carefully written and well illustrated, we are glad to have in a convenient form — '^ The History and Development of the House." Other articles deal with medisBval manners and customs — Family Life in the Sixteenth and Seven- teenth Centuries; The Earliest Industrial Census; A Schoolboy and his Book in Elizabethan Times; A Visit to America in 1774; and, such is the variety of subjects, Some Early Breach of Promise Cases.
Mr. Wheatley calls attention to the striking change which has come about in domestic habits, as evidenced by the use or disuse of the hall. For many centuries the hall remained the chief apartment of the house, where all met, the other rooms being mere appen- dages to it. Here the family lived, and here many of its members slept. The hall was the great scene of hospitality, where visitors, however strange, were always made welcome. Very quaintly he reminds us that in those days, at the opposite end of the social ladder, the cottage would consist of two apartments, as Chaucer, in his ''Nun's Priest's Tale," tells of ''a poor widow dwelling in a poor cottage with a bower and a halL" The widow and her two daughters slept in the bower, while the poultry roosted on a perch in the hall, on the floor of which the pigs made themselves com- fortable. '' Dining in hall " began to decline in the sixteenth century, and now continues only in the older universities and similar places of learning.
Mr. Wheatley refers to the superstition common among ignorant peasants, ** from Yorkshire to India, that no one can die easy in a bed," and to the strong feeling amongst the Russian peasantry against using pigeons' feathers in beds, because they consider it sacrilegious, the dove being the emblem of the Holy Spirit
REVIEWS ANB NOTICES OF BOOKS 285
In the paper on "Faneral Baked-meats," an amazing record is preserved of the qnantity of food and drink consnmed at an " obit '' dinner, 1519, held to celebrate the obseqnies of " the hje and mighty Emperor Maximilian," when Cardinal Wolsey was one of the gnests. Amongst the large variety of fish snpplied were 2 blot-fish costing 3«., 5 lyngt, 5 cod, 12 pike, a qnarter of a porpoise, roast and baked eels, lampreys roast and stewed, 100 smelts, 200 whiting, 5 tnrbot, 4 great salmon, a conger (to make turtle soup), 14 haddock, 2 garnards, and red herrings. All this for twenty-foor persons, though one was my Lord Cardinal, and another my Lord of Norfolk, with heralds and parsuivants, and my Lord Legate of Rome !
The History of the Diocese op St. Asaph. Part II. By the
Ven. D. R. Thomas.
Past II of this valuable work furnishes a very praiseworthy example of what can be done by painstaking study and careful research into old records to bring to life again the d€ad past, and make it give out its instructive lesson. Those only who have been engaged in similar work can estimate aright the patient industry and cultured intelligence which go to make a history like this befoi*e us so full of varied and trustwopthy information.
Chapter XIII deals with the history of the diocese in the nine- teenth century, and refers in due course to the unsuccessful attempt made in 1842 to unite the Dioceses of St. Asaph and Bangor, which was only frustrated by the vigorous opposition headed by Edward Herbert, Earl of Powis. Archdeacon Thomas mentions the inscrip- tion on the Earl's tomb in Welshpool Church : " Conservator Episcopatus Asaphensis," and he quotes the witty epig^m written on the two candidates for the Chancellorship of Cambridge Uni- versity : —
" Prince Albert on this side ; Lord Powis on that ; We do not ask which is the brighter : But we pass by the youth who * invented a hat * For the Man who has * rescued a mitre.' "
The next section of the work contains a short account of the Bishops of the See from the earliest times to the present Diocesan, whose successful campaign in defence of the Welsh Church receives honourable mention. Among them is the well-known William Barlow, for a few months Bishop of St. Asaph, then of St. David's, later of Bath and Wells, and finally, after being impnsoned by Queen Mary, made Bishop of Chichester by Elizabeth. A copy is given (pp. 222-3) of his curious *' nuncupative will." Bishop Warton, his successor, was one of the Windsor Committee for the new Service Book, 1542-9, and it is suggested that this is the reason why among the treasures in the Cathedral Library are found three
OTH 8ER., VOL. viii, 20
286 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS
•
copies, issued respeotivelj in March, May, and June, of the Prayer Book of 1549. Bishop Richard Davies also comes ander notice as the chief translator of the 6rst Welsh Prayer Book (1567), joint translator of the first Welsh Testament (1567), and one of the ti:ansIators of the Bishops' Bible, and close after him his no less learned and famous brother Bishop William Morgan, the first translator of the Bible into Welsh. His seal is described, p. 266, as bearing " on a chief azure an open Bible stringed or,** in manifest allusion to his own great work.
Pages 269-316 contain a well-digested history of the Cathedral, which experienced so many vicissitudes — the earliest building con- sisting of wooden boards fastened together (more Britonum) after British fashion; the later edifice of less perishable materials, destroyed by fire once and again.
We are told of King Edward I's plan for the transference of the Cathedral from St. Asaph to his newly-built and fortified town at Bhuddlan ; of the efforts made to raise funds by the begging expedition of the canons who travelled throughout the country with the reliquary and the famous copy of the Gospels, the *' Eveggul- then ** ; the pilgrimages not only to St. Winifred at Holywell, but to Gresford, Pennant Melangell, and St Asaph.
Amongst the illustrations is an effigy of Bishop Anian (unfor- tunately placed on its side) and the curiously engraved paten with a hand in benediction, vested with the velum which was taken from a grave supposed to be that of Bishop Spridlington.
A description is given of the most important contents of the Cathedi'al Li binary, notably the three copies of the first Prayer Book of 1549, one of which belonged to Roger Ascham, Queen Elizabeth's tutor, and one of the four known copies of the *' Sealed Book *' of Common Prayer of 1662, probably presented through Bishop George Griffith, who compiled the Form for the Baptism of Adults.
It may be mentioned, as a useful feature of the work before us, that care has been taken to identify (no easy task) the English rendering of Welsh names as given in the old records.
Some of the extracts from these records might with advantage have been fully " extended." Albi Monasterii is hardlv represented by White Parish ; Edward I's Justiciary should be read G^uncelin de Badelesmere, instead of Badysmore ; and de legitima matrimonio procreati must be a printer's error.
287
9[rt|)aeol09ical BtfUa anli auerfecf.
Roman Buildings at Glasfbtn, Tbbmadoo, Carnabyonshibb. — By kind permission of the landowner (Mr. B. M. Greaves), ez- plonition of the above site was entered npon on Febrnary 29. The area so far excavated is about 40 ft. square. The surface of the ground being on an inclined plane, the depth of soil removed bas varied from 3 ft. to 8 ft.
The detailed description and characterisation of the buildings is deferred to a future occasion, but generally they may be said to resemble in plan the usual style associated with the Roman period. They comprise two rooms, entered by an aperture 2 ft. wide, roughly paved, measuring about 10 ft. square internally, and com- municating with one another by a narrow opening 18 ins. wide. They appear to have been utilised for purposes connected with the heating apparatus, for one of them contains a mass of square tiles and flat stones laid systematically on top of one another in pillar formation to a height of 12 ins. or 14 ins., the interstices between the pillars being filled up with red brick dust, in consequence of decay and damp, and the whole flattened by the weight of fallen soil and masonry. Adjoining this building are the remnants of the walls of a small oblong enclosure^ against one side of which was found a considerable mass of grout or concrete, about 6 ins. or 7 ins. thick, 2 ft high, which presented a vivid vermilion colouring. At the extreme comer of the building was found a shallow bath or cistern, paved with slabs. This receptacle measured 6 ft. 3 ins. by 3 ft. 8 ins., and 7 ins. in depth. At one end, some 7 ins. or 8 ins. below the slabs, ran a V-shaped flue, but there is no indication of a pipe for water leading into or out of the bath. Immediately behind this bath is a passage-way, with flue adjoining, leading in a direction as yet unexcavated by means of an arch. What has been brought to light may be briefly summarised as baths and rooms in connec- tion. The masonry is of herring-bone pattern. The walls, which vary in beight from 1 ft. to 6 ft., are 2 ft. wide and contain a core composed of shells and other debris.
No evidence of stucco or tesseras has as yet appeared, but both within and without the walls, at the presumed floor level, is a broad margin of a hard and dark adhesive substance, composed of coarse gravel, which may have served the purpose of a damp-course.
The " finds" comprise —
a. Quantity of roofing slates (with nail-holes), some of a diamond
and others of a hexagonal shape.
b. Fragpoients of scored or lined tiles of varying pattern.
c. Fragments of flue and flanged tiles.
20
288 ARCHJSOLOGIGAL NOTES AND QUERIES
«
d. A namber of tiles about 12 ins. square by 1^ ins. to 2 ins. thick.
e. Three stones having both surfaces and sides ornamentally chipped
(possibly mullions or cills of windows).
f. Several fragmentary portions of the rims and base of mortana
(the inside surface studded with small siliceous stones), com- posed of white clay, with red colouring on the outside edges. These fragments, which have been compared with specimens from Uriconium in the Shrewsbury Museum, are identical with what are there described as red tinted Romano- Salopian ware.
g. Portion of an arm of a terra-cottu image.
h. Fragment of the base of a large circular glass vessel, of a dark- green colour, and other fragmentary portions of glass of a light-green colour. (These are also identical with specimens from Uriconium in the Shrewsbury Museum.
i. Pieces of extensively-corroded iron, some pierced with copper- headed nails or rivets.
j. Various articles of iron (not yet examined), and nails and bolts, measuring 4 ins. to 5 ins. in length, the metallic composition of which has not yet been tested.
k. Some shapeless masses of slag of iron.
1. Quantities of shells of various description, and numerous bones and teeth (not yet examined).
m« Quantity of wood ashes.
Charles E. Breesb.
In Papal Letters^ vol. iv, p. 363, I have met with the following most interesting entry, on which I hope Mr. C. E. Breeso may be able to throw light : —
" 1391 ii Id. Oct. St Peter's Rome
"To Gruffut ap Llewelin ap Kynwre, donsel of the ^diocese of Bangor. Licence to him and his heirs to have masses and other divine offices celebrated in the oratory of the poor hospital of St. Mary the Virgin in the said diocese, situate between two arms of the sea called Traeth urtro and Abermo eight English miles apart, in which the tide ebbs and flows twice a day (in die naturali) as far as the mountains which are opposite the sea; the said hospital having been begun to be founded and built by him for poor and wayfarers and being difficult of access.''
D. R. T.
Llanidan Churcb^ Anglbset. — We give an illustration of one of the stones in Llanidan Church referred to in the Report of the Anglesey Meeting, Arch. Camb., January, 1908, p. 73, which has b^en very kindly drawn by Mr. Harold Hughes, Subjoined is an
ARCfiifiOLOaiCAL NOTES AND QUEEISS
289
interesting note on this stone, bj that very competent. autbority on heraldry, Mr. Hugh Robert Hnghes of Kinmel Park : —
" In all probability the person who is heraldically commemorated on the stone referred to is Richard Prydderch, of Myfyrian, parish of Llanidan, M.P. for Beaumaris, 33 Henry VIII (1541).
M^aXOK^U.*
*' His great-grandfather, Evan ab Ednyfed ab Griffith ab Llewelyn ddu ab Howel ab Cynfrig ab lorwerth ab larddur — [fftdeSy a cheyron between three stags heads caboshed argent]. Married Gwenllian, daughter and heir of Ifan ab Llewelyn ab lorwerth Yychan ab lorwerth ab Llewelyn, of Myfyrian ucha, ab Oadwgan ab Llowarch ab Bran— ar^en^, a chevron sable between three Cornish choughs.
" Richard Prydderch's father, Rhydderoh ap David, is party to a deed dated 26 October, 27 Henry YIII (1535), and his second son
290 AROHieOLOGIOAt NO¥l!S. AND QU£RIS!S
William Prytherch was in Holy Orders, LL.D., Parson of Llan- fechell and Chaplain to the Archbishop of Dublin.
"In the Arch. Camb., vol. i, pp. 433 and 434, there is a descrip- tion of this stone by ' H. L. J.,' which is quite unworthy of his repatatiou. He first assames that the letters ought to be R.B. — when they are obviously R.P. — suggesting a connection with the Bulkeley stone; and then because the Arms do not support this theory he describes them as * erroneous blazons'! — not apparently being aware that the term * blazon' means the verbal description of heraldic charges."
H. R. Hughes.
Tenby Parish Church. — The following oommnnication from Mr. Edward Laws, one of our Vice-Presidents, appeared in the Tenby and County News of April 15, 1908, and forms an interesting addition to his valuable History of Tenby Church, reviewed in Arcfi, Gamb., April, 1908 :—
*' In removing the plain, square-headed window-frame from the north-east corner of Tenby Church to make way for the brand-new creation that has usurped its place, a variety of small relics were brought to light, and through the thoughtful care of Messrs. Truscott and W. H. Thomas, preserved. These bear on the past history of Tenby Church.
" First of all we find a fragment on which is carved a beautiful specimen of the four-leaved flower, the typical ornament of the Decorated period, 1275-1375. It is so fresh and free from weather stain that it must have been an interior ornament. There are, I think, pieces of two other windows with flat mouldings, late Perpendicular, probably the end of the fifteenth century.
'* The most interesting * find,' however, consists in a great number of broken encaustic tiles. There seem to be fourteen decorative tiles represented, all of which may be found in Carew Church. These bear floral or geometrical patterns. Three heraldic tiles are in the * find ' : —
Westminster Abbey. — A cross flory between five martlets. This
occurs in St. David's Cathedral. (2.) The See of Worceste7\ — Ten roundlets. This may be seen in the
Lady Chapel, Gloucester. (2.) A Beatichamp Coat. — On a fess three roses between six martlets.
At St. David's. (3.)
** Then there is a broken tile with the head of a yawning dragon. In medisBval time tlii^ was supposed to depict the way by which folks went to the devil, and was called ' Hell's Mouth.' The twenty- two tiles represented in this lot were pretty certainly made at the Malvern factory quite late in the fifteenth century. To these we may add another tile with a legend, which we have not yet read. Besides the flooring tiles there are scraps of two wall tiles, which were in low relief, and resemble certain specimens found in Whitland
AKCH^OLOaiCAL NOTES AND QUERIES 291
Abbey. There are, too, some brilUantly-coloared fragments of foreign, not English, manofactare, and I think very rare. .
"Now, as to the place these tiles formerly held in St. Mary's. It was impossible that any portion of the Church proper could have been paved with tiles. It was covered with grave-stones. When the high-altar was built, about the end of the fifteenth century (the date of these tiles), I expect the steps and the altar platform were paved with tiles, and the walls decorated with a tile dado.
'' In the first half of the last century the living was sequestrated, and the chancel got into a terrible state of disrepair; the rector referred his churchwardens to his creditors when they complained, so the parishioners did the repairs themselves. It was at this time probably that the old square-headed window was blocked, and some of the tile flooring torn up to make building material.**— Ten^y and County News, April 15, 1908.
An archaBological discovery of a most interesting character, viz., that of the house of Thomas Guntor, a Roman Catholic of the time of Charles I, has been made at Abergavenny. The house referred to is situate in the lower end of Cross Street, and was until recently occupied and used as an inn, known first as " The Parrot,*' and more recently by the name of the " Cardiff Arms.** The old house afterwards came into the hands of a builder, and it was not until the demolition of the old premises had begun, and the pick and hammer had been freely used, that the true character of the building was laid open. A little room in the attic, at the north-east end of the house, was undoubtedly the domestic chapel of Thomas Gunter. When the lime-wash had been removed, there came to sight a beautifully decorated fresco ceiling, representing the Magi bringing their gifts. The figures of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, with the Star of Bethlehem, with an ox standing near, are beautifully delineated.
Above the small window opening into Cross Street is the Jesuit mark " I. H. S.," within rays. The figures with the plaster have now been successfully and carefully removed entire by the owner, with a view, if possible, to their better preservation, though it is somewhat doubtful whether this is assured, having regard to the material crumbling. On the walls, too, are some cherubic figures, the subject of which it is difficult to determine. At the east end of the chapel there appear some Roman figures, the date 1640, and two grotesque human forms, with a heart at the feet of a lady. The top line is " T. G. his mark." Thomas Gunter was a devout Romanist, the son of Robert Gunter of The Priory, Abergavenny, and grandson of James Gunter, the grantee of The Priory, a Protestant. It was a Gunter who entertained Charles I on his visit to The Priory in 1645.
It was, however, well known that Thomas Gunter maintained a private chapel, whereunto Roman Catholics resorted.
292 ARCn^OLOGICAL NOfUS AND QtfBRI*S
In the Abstract of Examinations before the House of Commons^ 1680, Mr, Arnold deposed : —
" That he had seen a Pablick Ghappel near the house of Mr. Thomas Gunter, a popish convict, in Abergavenny, adorned with the mark of the Jesaits^ on the outside, and is informed that Mass is said there by Captain Evans,' a reputed Jesuit, and by the aforesaid David Lewis ^ : that very great numbers resort to the said Chappel, and very often at Church time, and he hath credibly heard that hundreds hath gone out of the said Chappel when not forty have gone out of the said Church, that the said Chappel is situate in a publick street of the said town and doth front the street."
Mr. Greenhaugh (the Vicar of Abergavenny) similarly deposed. Mr. Arnold further said: —
" That the persons who go under the names hereafter men- tioned do often change their names and are reputed Priests in the Counties of Hereford and Monmouth and do usually officiate in ten miles compas, viz. : — Mr. Drawcott ; Captain Pugh ;* Doctor Williams ; Mr. Parry ; Mr. Jones ; Mr. Harries (who is said to be Superintendent of the Comb '^ Mr. John Hall ; Mr. Thomas Powell ; Mr. Har- ries {alias Price) ; and Mr. Thomas Andrews."^
Several scraps of MSS. have been found bearing the name of Thomas Gunter, one revealing the fact that he was an attorney (or solicitor). These MSS. range in date from 1674 to 1697. The Jesuit mark referred to as being on the outside has, however, disappeared with time. No one passing along Cross Street, Aber- gavenny, would have dreamt of the character of the old house referred to, or its identity, and it probably would have remained un-identified had not its demolition shown it.
T Bryn, January 20, 1908. W. Haines.
Stonb Implements, Anolbset. — The following list of stone im- plements, recently found in Anglesey by the Rev. E. Evans, Rector of Llansadwrn, Menai Bridge, with a record of the places where they were found, is kindly supplied by the finder : —
No. 1. — Between Cae-isaf and Bryneryr, \\ mile west of Llan^^ sadwrn Church. Not far from the Roman road.
^ Mark I. H. S. within rays.
> Phillip Evans, executed at Cardiff, July 22, 1679.
' David Lewia, aliaa Baker, executed at Usk, August 27, 1679.
* A captain in the Royal Army and a surgeon. " Llanrothal, Herefordshire.
• Probably of The Hardwick.
AttCH^OLOOICAt NOTES AND QUERIES 2d3
•Nob. 2 and 3. — i mile 8oatfa<eaat of Pentroetb Charch.
294
ARCH^OLOaiCAL NOTES AND QttEtllES
No. 6. — Ty'n-y-caeaD, Penmon.
No. 6 and 7. — Castellor, IJ mile sonth-west of Llansadwrn Church. Not far from the Roman road.
No. 6.
No. 9.
No. 8.
No. 7.
No. 8.— Between Penhesgyn and* Brjnerjr, 1^ mile west of Llansadwrn Chnrch.
No. 9. — 40 yards west of Trefor Cromlech, Llansadwrn.
ABCH.E0L0Q1CAL N0TB3 AND QlfERIES 295
Exploration of Tdudu near Cabrvtb, Flintbhikb. — Tbe Rev. P, StapletoD, S.J., of S^ Beano's College, aeuds the folloiviii^ : *' A tamnlas situated Dear Bryngvr^ n Hall, io ths pnriih of Caerwjs, has recently been explored by stndentH from St. Beuno's College, Tremeirchion. The tnroalaa in question is one of a gronp of faalf a docen wbicb lie oloae together at tbe extreme aouth-west corner of tbe platean tbat lies to the east of the Clwydian heights. This part of the country has long been noted by arohieo legists as rich in tnmnli.
" The Qop tnmnlas, locally known as Boadicea's tomb, crowns a hill which bonnda the plateaa on the north. This, the largest
tnmnlas of North Wales, was explored by ProtesBor Boyd Damkins (see Arch. Camb., Jnly, 1902).
" In tbe autumn of 1899, the ReT. J. Luck, S.J., of St. Benno's College, explored one of the Bryngnyn ^ronpand unearthed a bnrnt burial. The state of the bones showed them to hare been previously distarbed.
" A rude stone hammer, about the size of a man's foot, pointed at either end and with a ronghly-ont groove in the middle, was also dng ont
"Tbe tnmnlns explored in the winter of 1907-8 is a larger monnd, measnring some 50 ft. by 30 ft., and standing 10 ft. abore tbe ■nrrounding gronnd level. It is oomposed entirely of earth, mixed
296 ARCHiBOLOGICAL NOTES AND QtERtES
with angnlar fragments of the local shale. The excavations prove it to have been constmcted in two stages.
'* A difference in colonr in the materials allowed the two stages to be easily distingoished.
** The lower stage is a monnd 3^ ft. high at the highest point ; the npper stage rises some 6 ft. higher. In the highest part of this upper stage a hollow 2 ft. in depth and 9 ft in diameter had been dag and reGlled with a darker material.
" The ' finds' represent three interments. The remains of a cinerary nrn — ^a few small fragments only — together with a scrap of bronze, and a few fragments of bone, represent a secondary interment in the bowl-shaped hollow in the top of the tnmnlas.
" At a depth of 6 ft. a small cairn of rongh stones, a little above the level at which the npper and lower steges joined, and a thin layer of charcoal at the juncture pointed to a second interment, which was found a foot below, near the top of the lower stage.
" This interment consisted of a mass of bones and oak charcoal, occupying a space ef about 22 in. by 15 in. by 7 in.
" The third interment lay a foot lower, and to one side of the last. This was an urn burial. The urn was upside-down, and much crushed by the weight of the mound. It contained burnt bones and a burnt flint. The pattern of the rim is a bold chevron ornamenta- tion, a zigzag line with a vertical line occupying each angle. The inner sur^ce of the rim bears a well-defined twisted-cord pattern/'
Tbe Carmarthenshira Antiquarian Society and Field Club have issued a brief report of their work during the three years of their existence. They are justly proud of having a roll of 186 members, and in addition to collecting valuable material for the history of the county, such as a list of the burgesses of Carmarthen to 1820, of the sherifi^s of Carmarthenshire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and references to early Methodism in the county, they have been successful in obtaining possession of one of the towers (the only one in perfect preservation) on the walls which formerly enclosed the town of Carmarthen, which, with the house adjoining, is used as their headquarters. In addition to the antiquarian section, which appears to have special attraction for most of the members, we are glad to notice in their Transactions a calendar of the earliest birds and flowers in Carmai*thenshire.
Find at Din SYLWT.—On Api-il 11, I visited the camp at Din Sylwy, Anglesey, and noticed on the surface various small fragments of black and red pottery, including a portion of a rim of a vessel of the former, of a character frequently found in connection with Romano-British sites.
On further search, a Roman coin was discovered. I submitted a rough sketch and rubbing to Mr. Willoughby Gardner. He very kindly writes : —
ARCHiBOLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES 297
**As far as rubbing shows, the coin is a third brass Roman, reading on obverse — (imp. c.) v(i)otorinvs p.f. av(q), head of Victorinvs ; reverse illegible, probably fignre of * Peace.*
" Victorinvs was associated in the ' Empire' in GanI by the * Emperor' Postnmns between years a.d. 265-7. His coins, with others struck in Gaul, were current in Britain."
Harold Hughes.
Mbrddtn Gwyn Babbow, Pentrabth. — In connection with my report on the excavations of the Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, in the April number of the present volume of the Journal^ the Be v. Evan Evans calls my attention to the following points to which reference was omitted: —
1. One whole and two fragments of other skulls were found over and above those discovered in connection with the complete skeletons. The whole skull was discovered in a north-westerly and the frag- ments in an easterly direction from the doubled-up skeleton.
I have not seen these bones. They were, Mr. Evans informs me, found about 1 ft. above the original ground level.
2. A few fragmentary bones of animals were discovered in various parts of the barrow, including those of sheep, pig, and ox.
Mr. Evans writes that Dr. White informed him there was a bone of a dog in the cinerary urn.
8. Mr. Evans informs me that he discovered several holes, about 3 ft. diameter and 3 ft. deep, sunk below the original ground level, he thinks within the circumference of the ring of large stones referred to in my report. These holes were filled with soil. Mr. Evans writes : " I found three food holes when the steam-navvy was at work. I daresay there were more, but I could not stay to watch the navvy at work."
4. A 2-in. layer of burnt soil, immediately above the original ground level, was discovered over a considerable area of the barrow.
Harold Hughes.
Annual Meeting — Monmouth. — The following is the programme of the excursions arranged for the sixty-second Annual Meeting of the Association, which will be held at Monmouth, August 17 to 21. President-Elect, Professor A. H. Sayce.
Tuesday, August 18. — Trelleck Church, Tumulus, Stones — Tintern Abbey — St. Briavel's Castle — Newland Church — Staunton Church.
Wednesday y August 19- — Skenfrith Church, Castle — Groamonb Church, Castle — Garway Church — Welsh Newton Church.
Thursday y August 20. — Crick House — Caerwent — Caldicot Church — Mathern Church — Chepstow Castle.
Friday^ August 21. — Tre Owen — Tregaer Church — PenrhosCamp — White Castle — Llantilio-Crossenny Church — Raglan Castle — Mitchel Troy Church.
A programme, with full details, will be supplied in due course to those members who join the excursions.
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RICHARD HENRY WOOD, Esq., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., V.P. and Trustee of the C.A.A.
Mr. Wood was the son of Mr. Charles Wood, solicitor, of Manches- ter, by Catherine, daughter of Mr. Matthew Rose, and was born at Northen House, Cheshire, on February 6, 1819. He married, in 1854, Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Peter Hatton of Belle Yne, Hartford, and niooe of Mr. James Hatton of Hatton in Dares- bury. The family had been settled here as early as the time of William I, but in the time of Henry III the estate had been partitioned away among fi7e co-heiresses. In the beginning of the last century Mr. James Hatton, of Manchester, purchased a portion of the township and renewed the ancient family connection. From him it came to Mrs. Wood. The Hattons of Daresbury represent an older branch of the better known family of the Finch -Hattons, Earls of Winchilsea.
Amply endowed with the good things of this world, he had means, leisure, and opportunities for following his own tastes and inclinations, which were those of a well-read and intelligent country gentleman. A Justice of the Peace for the Counties of Warwick and Merioneth, he served for twenty years as Chairman of Petty Sessions at Rugby and for upwards of twenty years on the Grand Jury at Warwick. In 1899, it was his fortune, as High Sheriff of Merioneth, twice to receive Royalty — once Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, and again the Princess Beatrice when she came down to Barmouth in connection with the new church.
As a country gentleman he was a good judge of horseflesh, a keen rider to hounds, and the hospitable possessor of a fine cellar of old wines. But with all this his real tastes were of a quiet, literary and philanthropic kind, and more especially of an archssological turn. For twenty years ho was Hon. Sec. of the Chetliam Society; a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, of the Royal Geographical Society, and of the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy, of which he was also a corresponding member. Other Archaoological Societies to which he belonged were the Institute and the Association, the Lincoln, Northampton, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, and Warwick- shire ; the Warwickshire Field Club, the Lancashire and the Cheshire Antiquarian and Historic Societies ; the Camden, the Pipe Roll, and the Index Societies. As a member of the Cambrian ArchsBolo- gioal Association^ he and Mrs. Hatton Wood were regular attendants at the Annual Meetings until her death, which occurred in the year of his Presidency in 1904 This loss he never quite recovered from,
OBITUARY 301
for Mrs. Hatton Wood's tastes were similar to his own, and her unmerons MS. note- books and sketches mnst be fall of interest.
He had been for some years one of the tmstees of the Association, :and was always ready to promote its interests both with bis parse «nd with his well-stored knowledge. One of his oldest friends was Matthew H. Bloxam, who seldom failed to attend oar gatherings, «nd was a veritable storehouse of archeoolog^cal, and especially of •ecclesiological, lore ; and we remember well the admiration he nsed to express for the masterfal character of oar old leader, Mr. Barnwell. To Mr. Wood we owe the portraits that accompanied the Notices of Mr. Bloxam, Mr. Barnwell, Mr. Worthington Smith, and the present -Chairman of Committee. He had a splendid library of books, -especially rich in connty histories, and he was always most ready to «apply information.
Mr. Helsby, editor of the revised and enlarged edition of Ormerod's History of Cheshire, acknowledges "very considerable obligations" to him. '' He is indebted to him not only for the loan of a nnmeroas collection of the charters of the Leghs of Booths, which had been rescaed by him from destraction, bat also for many other docnments connected with the Macclesfield and Backlow Hundreds, and for the perasal of his magnificent collection of ancient charters." To him Mr. Harrison Ainsworth dedicated his Beau Nash, or Bath in the eighteenth centnry ; and to his memory is inscribed the new and enlarged edition of Archdeacon Thomas's History of the Diocese of St Asaph,
Mr. Wood had some Welsh blood in his veins, and I remember his pointing out to me a tablet in Chester Cathedral to one of his kin with the familiar name of Jones ; bat his practical interest in Wales began with the purchase of Pantglas, in the parish of Trawsfynydd, Merioneth ; to which he subsequently added property at Harlech and the two historic spots of Cwm Bychan in the same connty, and Treceiri in Carnarvonshire. Treceiri is well known to members from visits paid to it daring the Annaal Meetings at Carnarvon in 1848 and in 1877, and regain from Portmadoc in 1903, when Mr. Wood was President, and from the descriptions of its notable prehistoric remains by Sir T. L. D. Jones-Parry in vol. i, 3rd Series ; by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell in vol. ii, 4th Series ; by Dr. Christison in vol. xiv, 5th Series; and by the Report on the Exploration made by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould and Mr. Robert Barnard in vol. iv, 6th Series ; and again by Mr. Harold Hughes in vol. vii of the same series. Cwm Bychan, famous for its wild scenery and its prehistoric steps to the Pass of Bwlch y Tyddiad, had been in the possession of the family of Lloyd, according to Pennant's Tours in Wales, ii, 275, fi-om the end of the eleventh century, until it was sold to Mr. Wood ; both of these properties have been left by him to bis nephew, Mr. Stanley Rose Wood. Writing from Ragby in July, 1892, he remarked that " we are just now in the throes of electioneering, and I am so unfortunate as to have twelve county votes, stretching from Essex on the one side to 6tii skr., vol. vni. 21
302 OBITUARY
Gamarron on the other, and I am hard at work endeavonring to record as many as I oan." In politics he was a stannch Conser- vative, and in relation to his tenants a considerate and generous landlord. In religion he was a High Churchman of the old-fashioned type who liked to see everything well ordered and reverently done. Blessed with great wealth, he had a deep sense of the obligations it involved, and was very conacientioos in their discharge. Hia private charities were nnmberless, and he has left some public mementoes of his munificence in the places wherewith he was directly connected. At Llanaelhaiarn (Treceiri) he restored and enlarged the parish church ; at Trawsfynydd (Pantglas), where Mrs. Wood had already bequeathed £1000 for annual distribution of the interest among the poor, and had rebailt the south wall of the church and restored and beautified the interior, he, as her trustee,, built and presented a church house and some almshouses.
He restored the church at Long Stanton in Cambridgeshire. At Rugby, where he went to live just thirty years ago, he built the Hospital of St. Cross, at a cost of £35,000, and endowed it with £10,000 and ten acres of land ; and in 1899 Mrs. Wood added the beautiful chapel of St. Elizabeth. In 1890 Mr. Wood bought the house- and school in St. Matthew Street, which had belonged to his old friend Mr. Blozam, and conveyed them to the town for an institute and library. At Sidmouth he presented the town with a new fire-engine,, and Mrs. Wood gave the appointments ; he cleared off the debt of £600 on the Drill Hall ; bought Fort House, made it into a church house, and gave two other houses for its endowment. On Mrs. Wood's death he gave, as a memorial of her, £500 to the Cottage Hospital ; and, lastly, he bought the advowson of the living, which he bequeathed to the Bishop of the diocese as the most likely person to do justice to the importance of the cure. Last year he suffered from a long and severe illness, from which he was beginning to recover, when,^ prompted by his kindness of heart, he resolved to attend a meeting of the Boyal Devon and Exeter Hospital, to which he gave a cheque for £1000 in memory of his wife ; but it was a bitterly cold day and he took a chill, which soon closed the career of one whose quiet^ gentle, beneficent life ended on April 25 — St. Mark's Day — 1908, at the ripe age of eighty-nine, and he was laid to rest beside his wife in Daresbury Churchyard on the first of May — St Philip and St James's Day ; " In Peace."
The portrait is produced by the kind permission of the publisher of The Rugby News and Midland Times. D. R. T.
WILLIAM TREVOR PARKINS, M.A.
Mr. Trevor Parkins was an old member of the Association, and for many years on the General Committee; and those members who attended the Annual Meeting at Wrexham in 1874 may remember how much its success depended on his services as one of
OBITUARY 303
the looal secretaries. A paper on '^ OflTa's Dyke/' read by him on that occasion, was printed in the Journal the following year. His father, Christopher Parkins, son of Thomas Parkins, Rector of Ghesham, Bncks, belonged to an old family long settled at West Ashby, in Lincolnshire, and came to Gresford in 1 793 as carate to Henry Newcome, the vicar (1764-1803), and remained there for fifty years, being in charge during the non-residence of his succefisor. Prebendary Horsley (1803-47), who lived in Edinburgh, nnder sequestration.
Mr. Parkins married, about the year 1820, Anne Arabella Ros- ea wen, one of the four co-heiresses of the Trevalyn estate, and granddaughter of Anne Trevor, the heiress of Trefalyn, Plas Teg, and Glynde. Their only son, William Trevor Parkins, was born at> Gaeau, in Gresford, in 1822, and educated first at Shrewsbury School under Drs. Butler and Kennedy, and then at Oxford, where he was a Postmaster of Merton, and took his degree, as 2nd Gl. liitt. Hum. in 1845. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1851 and joined the North Wales Gircuit, on which he was for many years standing counsel for the Pontmaster-General. He was also appointed Revising Barrister for the Stockport districts of Gheshire; and in 1891, on the death of the Right Hon. H.'G. Raikes, M.P., he was appointed by the Bishop of St. Asaph to succeed him as Ghancellor of the diocese, which office he held till his death, which was hastened by an attack of bronchitis and hearts trouble, on Sunday, May 31, 1908, at the ripe old age of eighty-six.
Mr. Trevor Parkins was a man of many tastes. While at Oxford he was Joint Secretary with E. A. Freeman (the historian) of the Architectural Society, and he wrote many translations from the German poets and a local poem, " The Ballad of Horsley Hall," published first in BenUey^s JUagazine, and later in the Cheshire Ballads. At a later period he wrote the *' Sketch of the Life of the Author," prefixed to the Gamarvon edition of Pennant's Tours iih WcUes, 1883 ; and it has been to many a matter of much regret that, with his wide knowledge, he did not undertake the editing of that valuable work, and bring it into closer touch with the present day. He was a frequent contributor to Bygones, and one of his latest subjects was an account of " The Gonsistory Gourt of St. Asaph," with a list of the Ghancellors, which he was revising for separate publication at the time of his last illness.
In parochial affairs he took a very active interest, and was Vicar's Warden, a Trustee of the Gharities, Chairman of the Parish Gouncil, and President of the Rose Show. In county matters he was a Justice of the Peace, and for some years a Member of the Gounty Gouncil. In more public affairs he was Ghairman of the training ship *' Glio." But it was as a Ghurchman of the old Oxford type he will be best remembered. A Sunday School teacher from boyhood, he had his class to the end ; he was the Secretary and mainstay of the Wrexham Deanery Association ; he was practically the founder and moving spirit of the Diocesan Gonference, and its Lay Secretary
304 OBITUARY
from its institation in 1878 antilhis resignatioii lasfcyear ; and he was, moreover, a member of the first Honse of Laymen.
Mr. Trevor Parkins married, in 1846, Margaret Annabella Jane, daughter of the Rev. William Llojd, rector of LlanfaeUila, Anglesey, the representative of the Lloyds of Blaenglyn, Merioneth, descended in direct line from Bleddyn ap Gynfyu. Their only surviving son, the Rev. William Trevor Parkins, vicar of Wychnor, Bnrton-on-Trent, died in 1902, while on a visit to his old home at Gresford. Two daughters, however, snrvive him.
D.R.T.
The Latb Mr. Bomillt Allen.
As some misunderstanding has arisen in connection with the obituary notice of the late Mr. Romilly Allen, which appeared in the October number, 1907, the Editor is authorised to state that it was written by the Venerable Archdeacon Thomas.
SIXTH SERIES.— VOL. VIII, PART IV.
OCTOBER, 1908.
THE TOWN OF HOLT, IN COUNTY
DENBIGH :
ITS CASTLE, CHURCH, FRANCHISE, AND DEMESNE
By ALFRED NEOBARD PALMER (Continued from page 283.)
CHAPTER VI.— HOLT CHURCH
In this chapter it is proposed to deal with the history of the parish church of Holt, or of " the chapel of the Holt," as it used to be called. For, be it remembered, that until recently this church was, in strict phrase, but a chapel to Gresford, although popularly, for two or three centuries, the chapelry has been known as a
f)arish, and the building as ** Holt Church." Still, so ate as 1843, at the time of the tithe survey, both Holt and Isycoed were treated as chapelries of Gresford parish. At the inquisition taken at Holt Castle on the 3rd November, 1397, after the beheading of Richard, Earl of Arundel, it was declared that he had been seized of the advowson of Gresford church and of the chapels of St. Leonard of Glyn and of the town of Holt, to the same church annexed, worth yearly, with the chapels aforesaid, £100 {Povrys Fadog, vol. i, p. 376). It is to be added that the chapel of St. Leonard has long since disappeared, although still commemorated by the name " Pont y capel " (see my
0TH 8SB., VOL. VIII. 22
306 THE TOWN OF HOLT.
History of the Country Townships of the Old Pari^^h of Gresfordy pp. 52 and 53), and that the chapelry of Holt included the present parishes of Holt and Tsycoed, In 1395, however, Holt Church was already in exist- ence, and had existed probably since a time shortly after the foundation of the town by one of the Warrennes. It is even possible that parts of the older building, reworked, are to be found in the nave arcade of the present edifice, which may be described, as seen from the outside, as a handsome building of red sand- stone, having for the most part a late Perpendicular appearance, consisting of western tower with four stories, a narrow nave, and broad aisles running the whole length of the church. These aisles are not properly bonded outside, at the west end, into the tower, or inside, at the east end, into the chancel, and are therefore later than both. The tower stands out prominently, and is only attached at its eastern end to the main body of the church. It looks as if of middle fifteenth-century date, while the aisles may be of the beginning of the sixteenth century or the end of the previous century. The great western window of the tower seems to be an insertion, but is good Perpendicular work. When we enter the building, we are struck at once, first, with the pointed arches of the narrow nave, which is in five bays, with the wide aisles (the southern aisle being somewhat broader than the northern), with the two low but broad arches on each side of the chancel, and with the absence of any sort of arch between chancel and nave. It is evident, however, that at the eastern end of the nave there was formerly a rood-loft, and there appear to be traces of an early chancel arch there, while the wall above the nave arcade was raised, but not pierced for clerestory windows. The nave arches seem to be of late Deco- rated date, and the suggestion occurs that, the western tower having been erected, the nave arcade was rebuilt, or reworked, with narrow aisles attached to it. Later on, the aislelesa chancel was added; and later still, the
m COUNTY DKNBIOH.
arcade being lefib as it now appears, the nave aisles were replaced by wider ones, and extended eastwards, so as to range with the eastern end (late Decorated)
THE TOWS OP HOLT,
Halt Church : Interior looking Eaatirardi
of the chancel, the sides whereof were then pierced bo as to yield the chancel arcade we see to-day. The
t^ OOtnvtt DENBIGH 309
widening and extension of the aisles were effected in the main, it is probable, during the lifetime of Sir William Stanley, of Holt Castle, who was executed in 1495. In the chancel we are arrested by a curious phenomenon. The more eastern of the two Tudor arches of the southern arcade rests on a corbel in the east wall, the half-column, which should have supported it, standing beside it, and bearing nothing. All sorts of absurd suggestions have been made to explain this phenomenon, but the true and common- sense explanation, which is due to Professor Tyrrell Green, of Lampeter, commends itself to the under- standing. The east window of the south aisle was made wider than the wall could bear, and was in imminent danger of collapsing, so, on the outside, the buttress, which ought to nave been built nearer to the great inserted Perpendicular chancel window, and in line with the arches, was put close against the aisle window just named, and on the inside the engaged half-column was also made to strengthen the side of the same aisle window, and a corbel set high up in the eastern wall to bear the chancel arch. Outside, it is easy to see that the window had given way somewhat, and needed this special strengthening. On the south side of the south chancel aisle is a crocketed ogee credence table, which looks as though it were older than the wall in which it is set, and outside the lower part of the chancel, beneath the central window, is a trefoiled niche. Also, on the north wall of the north chancel aisle, inside the building, is the curious Crue acrostic brass — a reproduction whereof is here given — in what was probably the Crue chapel. In evidence of which Bishop Gastrell records the confirmation in 1604 " of the right of Bostock and Crue to an oratory or chapel " within this church. There was also, as will be seen later, a "lady priest" once officiating in Holt Church, and it seems likely that the east end of the south aisle was used by him for fulfilling his fxmctions. The eastern wall of the chancel is
.110 THE TOWN OF HoLT,
Decorated as high as the window sill, and Perpendicular above.
c BniBii, Holt Churcl
There are fairly good north and south doors, with flattened arches exteriiHlly and labels over them, but not provided with porches. The south door was
IN COtJNTT DENBIGH
Holt Church : South Dour
312 THE tOWN O* ttOLt
particularly enriched on the outside, fronting as it did the castle gate, but is now a great deal defaced. In one of the two spandrels, however, a shield, quarterly, France and England, is quite distinct. At tne top of the arch is a sculptured representation of what appears to be the Annunciation, very much weathered. And in the wall above this same arch is an elegant panelled band. The ugly parapet of the aisles was added in 1732.^
It seems important to take note of the many mason marks scattered about the church, none being found in the fluted octagonal columns of the chancel arcade.
Inside and outside the tower, the stone work is sprinkled thickly with mark I on the annexed sheet. Also, inside the tower occur, once each, Nos. ii to vi, and on the tower arch, in two places, No. xxxix, which last is found nowhere else in the church, except on a piece of walling hereafter to be specified, at west end of south aisle, where it is to be regarded perhaps as a sign of repair.
On the pillars of the two nave arcades the marks XXII, XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, and xxxiii are most common. These are peculiar to the arcade, as also are marks xxvi, xxxi, and xxxviii, which, how- ever do not occur frequently. The marks xil, xili, and xxix are common elsewhere — in the aisles, for example. Nos. xxiii and xxix are, so far as was noticed, found once only in the arcade.
The characteristic marks of the aisles are xi, xii, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, and xxi, Nos. xviii and xix being noticed once only. Now nearly all these are to be seen in the aisles of Gresford Church, while xi and XIV are in Wrexham Church, cut on walling which is known to be of the early sixteenth century. The west end of the south aisle is worth looking at, the
^ A great deal was done at Holt Charch about this time. Briefs were issued in 1723, authorising the collection of money throughout England and Wales for the " repair of Lyons alias Holt " [Church], and the amount stated to be required was no less than £1,939.
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§14 TttE TOW^* OF ttOLT
masonry next the tower being different from that further therefrom. In the masonry first named, the marks vii, viii, ix, ixa, and xxix, occur once each, while the masonry at the other or southern end of the wall, resembles, in the type of its marks, the aisles generally. In the bit of walling next the tower we seem in fact to have a remnant of the old narrow aisle, and there appear to be similar, but less distinct, traces of an older aisle, in the north aisle, at the west end, next the tower.
The internal eastern wall of the chancel cannot be examined very clearly, but the peculiar marks xxxiii to xxxvi appear on it. The joint in the masonry between the south end of this wall and the east wall of the south aisle adjoining is very distinct. Not so clear, because hidden by the half-pillar, is the joint between the other end of the same wall and the east end of the chancel aisle. And directly next it, in the last-named aisle, is a stone bearing the mason mark No. xxxviii, very similar to xxxdi, characteristic of the chancel wall. It is probable that when the side walls of the chancel were pierced for arches, this stone, bearing mark xxxviii, was displaced, and re- used in building the north chancel aisle, but the remaining portion of the east wall of that aisle is sprinkled with the marks found in the aisles generally.
How do these observations affect the question of the date of the various portions of the building ? On the whole, they confirm the impression, already recorded, formed by a preliminary, out careful, study of the church, antecedent to the examination of the mason marks.
In particular, it is clear that the tower, arcades, chancel, and aisles were erected at different times. The two nave arcades are alike, except in respect of width, and were built at the same time, but under- went considerable repairs when the aisles were widened — a fact which explains the occurrence on them of some mason marks found mainly on the aisle walls. It is
iij COUKTY DKNBiGH 31 5
•
evident also that what was accomplished in the Perpen- dicular period was the work of many years, and done at intervals, so to say. The masons moved to Gresford, or to Wrexham, as money ran short, and one portion was completed, returning to finish their work as soon as fresh funds were available, or the men had accomp- plished their tasks elsewhere. New windows were also inserted, and older portions of the masonry repaired, so that a mason mark characteristic of one part of the church occurs occasionally in another. Perhaps, the raising of the nave roof was the last piece of* work undertaken at this time, at which date, as the Rev. E. A. Fishbourne suggests, the old chancel arch was also removed.
The rough condition of the masonry of the east wall of the chancel, as well as the height of its sill from the floor and from the level of the other windows, show that there must have been a Pre-Reformation reredos here. This east window has five lights, the east window in the north aisle having also five, and the east window of the south side, six, but each of these side windows is of a difierent type. The west windows of the two aisles resemble each other, and are of four lights. The side windows of the aisles are also of four lights, and of the same character.
The old clock and chimes were the gift of Thomas Grosvenor, Esq., of Eaton, during the time of his mayoralty, 1720-1- A new clock and chimes were placed in the tower in commemoration of the corona- tion of King Edward VII.
The tower contains a peal of six bells by Rudhall, of Gloucester.
The only piece of old furniture now existing in the church is the font, whereof a representation is here ;iven, reproduced from a photograph taken by Mr. H. R. ohnston, of Wrexham. The font stands so close to the west end of the south aisle that no photograph could be taken of it on that side. There is, however, in Lloyd- Williams and Underwood's ChurcJies of Den'
3t6
THI TOWN Ot ttOLT,
bighshire, a sketch of that side, and the authors say that the " bottom portion, turned upside down, was used for base of pulpit."
Font, Holt Churah
A description of the panels of the upper part of the
font follows : —
1st panel, animal figure, apparently a lion rampant
2nd panel, shield, quarterly, Ist and 4th, a lion rampant; 2nd
and 3rd, cbequ^ (Fitzalan quartering Warrenne).
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 317
3rd panel, shield, chequ^ (Warrenne).
4th panel, shield, 3 lions of England, surmounted by lion sejant, etc. (see below).
5th panel, shield, quarterly, 1st six cross crosslets, three and three, no fesse but room for one, 2nd chequ^, 3rd a saltire (probably Neville), 4th, three chevronels (Clare).
6th panel, a female or winged figure, defaced.
7th panel, a human figure with tau cross, defaced.
8th panel, a stag's head cabossed, perhaps the lodge of Sir William Stanley.
Much of the heraldry of the font is puzzling, and no solution offered is wholly satisfactory. But Mr. H. R. Hughes, of Kinmel, to whom was sent the photograph here reproduced, gave an explanation which seenQS most reasonable. The shields on the font were intended to show the history of the lordship of Bromfield and Yale in the heraldry of its lords. First comes the coat of Fitzalan, which by some mistake was made to pre- cede that of Warrenne, then the shield of Warrenne, followed by Fitzalan and Warrenne quarterly. The fourth shield contains the royal arms of Richard III, whose wife was Lady Anne Neville, second daughter of Richard, Earl of Warwick, *'the king maker." *'The crest/' Mr. Hughes writes, ** is a rude representation of the royal crest — a lion standing on a helmet : subse- quently this lion was crowned, and stood on a chapeau which was placed on the helmet." There is " a canopy over the crest, and the animal at the spring of it, to the spectator's right, is clearly the bear and ragged staff — the well-known cognizance of the Earls of War- wick. The shield appears to have been placed out of centre in order to make room for two small shields. The charges on them are practically obliterated, but the remaining indications look like, on the lower, three chevronels in pale, and on the upper, a mutilated saltire." The arms on the next shield, Mr. Hughes believes to be those of Anne Neville, wife of Richard III, incorrectly represented : the first quarter is Beaucharwp with the fesse tooled away ; the second, Newburgh,
318 THE TOWN OF HOLT,
minus the bend ; the third, the simple coat of NeviUe, without the label ; and the fourth, that of the Clares. Such is the account given of the shields in the fourth and fifth panels, and Mr. Hughes agrees that the stag's head in the eighth panel is " for Stanley."
The directions given to the masons appear to have been imperfectly carried out, and the font itself has been tooled since it was first sot up.
Two consecration crosses, each a cross crosslet, are still to be seen inside the church, both on the wall of the south aisle, and two similar crosses outside, one on a buttress next the south door, and the other at the west end of the north aisle, near the tower.
It is proposed at this point to defer the further description of the edifice until other matters are dealt with.
Although from times beyond available record until 1861, Holt did not belong to the diocese of St. Asaph, but first to the bishopric of Lichfield and afterwards to that of Chester, all the tithes, great and small, with the exceptions presently to be named, were appro- priated to Gresford. Even the Easter offerings and mortuaries were so appropriated. And the same remark applies to Isycoed. Of course, this shows that although Holt and Isycoed were in Gresford parish, there was at the beginning of the mediaeval area no chapel of any sort in either of the places just named, or, if there was such chapel, it was served from Gresford. When the English town of Holt was founded, soon after 1282, by one of the Warrennes, it would seem that the town, its franchise, the manor of Hewlington, and all that part of the old parish of Gresford lying south of Hewlington (now the parish of Isycoed), were deliberately annexed to the adjoining English diocese — that of Lichfield — and Holt Church, so soon as built, dedicated to St. Chad, the patron saint of the diocesan city. The tradition that St. Chad had formerly possessed lands in the district — in Sutton and Eyton — had also, no doubt, its efiect in producing this result. But the tithes of the
IN CX)UNTT DENBIGH 319
district, those afterwards to be mentioned always ex- ceptedy could not so easily be severed, especially as, before 1291, they had already been duly apportioned between the rector and vicar of Gresford. There were many claims to be satisfied. First, the Bishop of Lichfield wanted to treat Holt as a parish and appro- priate the rectorial tithes (two-thirds) of Holt to the Church of St. John, Chester. This seems to be the inner meaning of a memorandum in the patent roll of 18 Richard II (part 2, m. 9) with which Mr. Edward Owen, of the India Ofiice, has favoured me, thus summarised : — " 14 Feb., 1395, Grant for the security of the Earl of Arundel, who for settling the dispute which has arisen between him and Richard, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, and John Wodehouse, Dean of the collegiate church of St. John, Chester, touching the advowson of tithes of two parts of the chapel of Holt in the earl's lordship of Bromfield, in the Welsh March, has voluntarily granted that it shall be deter- mined in the King's court, according to the laws and customs of England, although he has, as he asserts, all jurisdiction and royal liberty and cogni sance of pleas within the same. ' The decision of the King's court in this matter is not recorded, or not found, but we know from other sources what it must have been. The claim of the Bishop of Lichfield was disallowed, and the Rector of Gresford kept the tithes of that parish, except those called '' boardland " and those belonging to ** the free chapel " in Holt Castle, but the claim of the Lord of Bromtield to the advowson both of the church of Gresford and parochial chapel of Holt was confirmed. The question then aiises : How was the chaplain of Holt church or chapel paid ? It would seem that the rector was called upon to supply a curate at Holt, or to find a certain annual stipend for such a curate. The chapel and its district (Holt franchise, HewUngton^ and the five townships of Isycoed) were attached to an English diocese, but the parson of Gresford had an indefeasible and irrescriptible title to
320 THE TOWN OF HOLT,
such tithes as he and his predecessors had enjoyed , subject to the provision just named.
A possible explanation is thus afforded of a seeming^ anomaly — the appropriation of the tithes of a chapel to the church within the parish whereof it stood, and alon^ therewith the annexation of the chapelry itself to a quite different diocese from that to which its parish church belonged.
But in fact the evidence available is so inadequate for forming an opinion wholly satisfactory and decisive that whatever further evidence exists had better be stated as briefly as possible. And first as to the advowson.
It has been shown in the first paragraph of this chapter that in the inquisition after the death of Richard, Earl of Arundel, already named, the said Earl had the advowson of the Church of Gresford with the chapels of St. Leonard of Glyn and of Holt to the same church annexed, and also, it may now be added, the tithes of the demesne lands of Llanarmon yn Yale, Wrexham, Eyton, Pickhill, Merford, and Hoseley. So the Bishop of Lichfield, in his claim to Holt chapel (1395), lost his case.
It would further seem that the Earl of Arundel held the advowson of Gresford Church as Lord o/Bromfield} When the lordship came into the hands of the Crown, the advowson followed the fortunes of the lordship. In the survey, already mentioned, of the 23rd year of Henry VII, the following passage occurs : — " The Kywgs majestye doth yeve [have] by [that is, by right ofj the castell of the Holte, the parsonage of Grosforthe yn the lordshippe of Bromfelde, the towne of the Holte beyng a member of the same, whiche p sonage ys of the yerely value of ffourscore poundes wherof one Doctor Chamber ys now parson withe a vicarage endowed of the yerely valew of twentye pounds wherof S' [blank] Whitt,
1 The knights of St. John of Jemsalem never had, as alleged by Bishop Gast^ll, any rights in the tithes of Holt.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 321
clerk ys vicar." It may be added in elucidation that the Rector of Gresford, Dr. John Chambers, was Dean of St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and that the will of Sir William White, Vicar of Gresford, dated May 20th, 1546, was proved April 20th, 1547.
Some further account will be given hereafter of the advowson of Holt Church, but it seems desirable now to point out what evidence there is for the suggestion, already made, that the provision of a curate for that church was laid as early as the time of Henry VIII on the Rector of Gresford. When, in 1529, the rectory house and tithes of Gresford were leased by the above- named John Chambers, the rector, to Thomas Billot^ Esq., for twenty-eight years, it was provided that the lessee ^' shall fynde an able and suffycyent priest to serve and kepe the cure at Holt (being a member or chappell of the sayd parsonage) to synge and say dyvine service dayly, and ther to mynister dyvine sacraments and sacramentalls to the parishioners ther inhabyting" (Archdeacon Thomas' History of the Diocese of St. Asaph^ Ist edition, p. 805).
We find from the will, dated 6th March, 151|, of Serjeant John Roden, farmer of the parsonage of Gresford, that the tithes of Holt and Isycoed were included within the lease to him, but the will is silent, as it may well be, concerning any charges relating to Holt Church, these, if any there were, being to be sought in the lease to John Roden, which has not yet been discovered. Serjeant Roden had also a lease of the tithes of the free chapel in Holt Castle, but this*, according to my reading of the will, was distinct from the lease of the parsonage of Gresford ;^ and we know that the two sets of tithes were distinct in fact.
It has been already stated that there was formerly a
^ '*Also yjf the said parsone [Sir Antony Bmyn, rector of Gresford] sufire this present tes(a.nient to be fulfilled without any lett, vezacion, oontradiccion, or by any maner of wise molestacion doon or moved by hym or by any maner of man in his name, I will that all obligacions, writynges, bondage [?] that he is bounden to me
6th 8KB., VOL. VIII. 23
322 THE TOWN OF HOLf,
" lady priest," or St. Mary's priest, within Holt Church, and lands allotted for his support. To these lands. Thomas ap David ap Deio, who was living in 1508, considerably added. In Tidderley's Survey of Holt, made towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII, Ralph Rawlyns, chaplain, is described as having there six burgages in Frog Lane, two other burgages and one tenement elsewhere in the town, and various lands (together with three acres of pasture in " Iscoyd"), in free alms, concerning which the after-named statements are made : — As to one messuage and six acres, part of the said premises, Thomas ap David ap Deio, enfeoffed in 1523 thence a certain Thomas Crew and others, and afterwards settled the same in the form following : " I will that my said feoffes and theyr heyrs after the decesse of me and my wiffe shall hold the said mease six ackers of land with the app'tennces to thuse [the use] of the salarye of owre ladye in the churche of holte and that the Ryves [reeves, or wardens] that shalbe yerely chosen for o' lady p'ste shall receve the Rente therof yerely and make accompt therof at eu'y [every] ffeaste of ester [Easter]. It'm the ladye p'ste for the tyme beyng for eu'more the day of my obytt shall saye masse, dyrige, &c. And if this be ffayled in eny
except the fre ckapell of tlie castell of the Holt to sfconde voide and of no valne and elles to sfconde in full sfcrengyfch and effecte. "
Since the foregoing was senfc to press I have seen tbe charges in respecfc of the chapel in Holt Castle for two whole several years in the account 8 of the lordship of Bromfield and Yale. The transla- tion of the Latin of those items follows : — Michaelmas 1388 to Michaelmas 1389 : *' In bread, wine, and wax bonghfc for the chapel of the lordship there this year, Ss, And in washing the vestments of the same castle this year, 4c?." (Mitiisters' Accounts^ ^).
Michaelmas 1898 to Michaelmas 1399 : " To Richard le Wylde, chaplain ... in the chapel of the lord King within the castle of Holt for his salary in the same office ... for one whole year, 100«. And in bread, wine, and small candles, bought for celebrating masses in the said chapel, . . . 3«. And for washing and mending vestments in the same chapel for the time of this account, 8d" The tithes received from the demesne lands this year in Wrexham, Eyton, Merford, Hoseley, and Aimer, were37«. 4d. (Mtnulers* Accounts^ 2^).
11^ COUN'TY DENBIGH 323
poynt that then hit shall be forfayte as eschetyd to the king." Then as to the 20 acres, another part of the premises, Thomas ap David proceeds in his testament to say : — ** It'm I wyll and bcquethe all my tofts and tenn* right in xx acr of land to the sustentacon and pay- ment of the lady p'este in the said churche for eu' with the words folowing as . yn the Article." And of the remainder of the premises no feoflFment or last will was shown, which premises were worth £4 yearly. If to £4 we add the declared annual issue of the bequest made by Thomas ap David ap Deio, we get £6 Os. 8d. as the yearly value of the charity lands at this time. And for the rest William " Stowkey " [Stockley], son and heir of John Stockley, brought before the commissioners a certain feoffment made by him to Thomas Crewe, namely : '* My wyll ys that where [whereas] William Wyat and Margaret Wall, widow, made a dede of feoffment to John ** Stowley " [Stockley] my fader and to odders, of the p'mises to thuse of the Salary e of the lady p'ste yn the churche of holte and that my said fader was the survyver of the feoffes, therefore I make this feoffm' for the same Intente arid vse." But in the margin of the survey is written the note that the lands described were con- ceded without licence of the lord king.
On the 26th June, 4th Edward VI (1550), the lands of this chantry were leased to John Stockley, valet of the guard, for twenty-one years from Michaelmas next following, and on the 3rd Februaiy, 2nd Queen Eliza- beth [1560], sold to Richard Baker and Sir Richard Sackville, Knt., who, according to Norden's Swvey, being possessed thereof in free and common socage, as of the manor of East Greenwich, sold the same to Edward Johns, citizen and merchant taylor of London, whose son and heir, also named Edward Johnes, con- veyed them to Ralph Egerton, dead at the time of the Survey (1620) and to his heirs in fee.
Mr. Edward Owen, of the India OflSce, tells me that
in the chancery certificates • . . Ist year Edward VI,
2a*
324 THE TOWN OB' HOLT,
Sir Randall Rawlings was styled the late stipendiary called ** o' lady p'st celebrating w%in theTowne of the Holte/' his yearly stipend having been £4 0^. 4(2., and the following important statement is added to the declaration : — ** It is thought necessary that either at the charge of the King's ma*^® or of the vicar of Gres- ford ther be a priest appointed to serve and minister to the people of the said Towne and Inhabitants ther- abouts being in number d [500] howselynge [capable, that is, of receiving the housel or sacrament] people that do comonly repayre for dy vyne service to the said Chappell distaunt from the p'ishe churche of Gresford aforesaid iij myles."
Edward VI, on June 20th, 1547, acquired from the Dean and Chapter of Winchester the manors of Overton, Alton, Stockton, and Putney, and the rec- tories of Overton and Alton, in county Wilts, giving in exchange the rectories of Gresford, county Denbigh, Crewkerne, county Somerset, and Laugharne, county Cardigan, with all their rights and members, but subject to the live interests of the existing incumbents. Now, John Chambers, Dean of St. Stephen's, West- minster, was then Rector of Gresford, and it was not, therefore, until after his death,^ which happened on 28th of June, 1549, that the Dean and Cnapter of Winchester entered into possession of the rectory of Gresford, burdened, so far as is shown by the deed of exchange just mentioned, with no obligation to maintain a curate at Holt. Nevertheless, then or afterwards, the Chapter of Winchester assigned £20 out of the tithes of Holt for the sustentation of such curate, and this was all they paid until 1828 in the case of Holt, and until 1837 in the case of Isycoed, although they took, in 1843, as tithes, from the two chapelries, no less than £940 yearly.
This sum of £20 constituted, apparently, after the
^ See summary of his wil], proved October 8th. 1549, on p. 179 of my History of the Townships of the Old Parish of Gre^ord.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 325
transfer to Winchester, the main endowment of the minister of Holt, the whole whereof, according to Bishop Gastrell [1714-1725], then amounted only to £32 135. 4c?., ^ of which total, two items, the value of the vicarage-house (£7 10^.), left by Griffith Roberts, and £2 10*. (the interest of £50 bequeathed by Mrs. Barber) were recent. There were besides £2 for surplice fees, and 13^. Ad., the value of a cow's grass in Farndon Heyes. The inhabitants of the five townships of Isycoed also allowed the minister of Holt £2 yearly for preaching in their chapel once a month. We must suppose that some collections or other voluntary offerings were made. This point will be touched on again.
The Dean and Chapter of Winchester always claimed the right of presentation to the curacy or incumbency of Holt, and this was ultimately conceded to them (see the list later on in this chapter of the incumbents of Holt), and they still possess it, although in 1861 the parishes of Holt and Isycoed were transferred from the diocese of Chester to that of St. Asaph.
It is proper that we now return to the description of the church and churchyard.
A wooden carved mitred head, forming a bench end, was removed from the church at the restoration about 1872, and is now part of the staircase at Holt Hall in , Church Street. An excellent reproduction of a photo- graph of this, taken by Mr. H. R. Johnston, i& here presented.
There are many memorial slabs in the church to the Pecks of Cornish, and three to former vicars of Holt, all the known information concerning whom is recorded elsewhere. But herewith is given a representation of one of the Peck slabs, so as to get duly recorded the arms of that family. Note, however, that in the motto the first letter of *'foedari," which looks like an r, is really an f.
^ My friend Mr. W* Fergnsson Irvine, F.S.A., of Birkenhead, snpplieB me with these details from Bishop Gastrell's notes.
THE TOWN OF HOLT.
Hult Cliurcli : Hitred Heiul (uow at Holt Hall)
IN COCNTT DEflBIGH
Slab of .liuijier Feck
328 THB TOWN OP HOLT,
Also are to be seen the after-named memorials : —
1. Marble monument near south door to Christian Jones and to John Jones, of Pentref, her husband. She died 10th October, 1789, aged 82. The monument was erected by Major Leche, of Sbretton [mayor in 1791], who married at Holt, 27th August, 1789, Margaret Jones, her daughter-in-law [see the entry of their marriage recorded on p. 341 of this chapter].
2. Brass on wall of north aisle to John Lloyd " of Issacoid," who died 15th April, 1784, aged 66.
3. Christopher Dod, of Holt, who died 26th January, 1784, aged 62.
4. Monument over north door to Eoger GriflBth, who died 6th April, 1811, aged 57, declared to be grandson of Soger Rowdon [Roydon], and to have been erected by his sister, Christiana Smith. Above, on a shield or, a buck's head erased gules, Mr. Peter Mitchell, of Holt Hall, tells me that this Roger Griffith, or Griffiths, a corn factor in Mill Lane, Holt, was son of John Griffiths, and had three sisters : (a) Christiana, married to Thomas Smith, who bought the Holt Hill property from Owen Dod ; (6) Rebecca, wife of John Mitchell, of Bretton, Flintshire ; and (c) Martha, who married twice, one of whose husbands was a Mr. Owen. And Mr. E. B. Royden, on the authority of wills examined by him, says that Esther, mother of Roger and wife of the said John Griffiths, was daughter of Roger Roydon, of Calde- cott and Macclesfield, son of the Roger Roydon, of Caldecott, buried at Holt, 5th January, 171^, son of George Roydon, of Holt, who died before 26th February, 165f.
5. Monument on north wall, west of north door, to Thomas Poole, of Byton, county Denbigh, who died 26th November, 1815, aged 61, and of three children of the said Thomas Poole, namely, John (who died an infant), Thomas (who died 16th January, 1825, aged 33), and Daniel (who died 20th April, 1839, aged 49). Erected by Elizabeth, " widow of the above Thomas Poole". [These were of the Pooles of Bryn in Ridley in the chapelry of Isycoed, of Abenbury and elsewhere.]
6. Marble tablet on north wall to the memory of Elizabeth Anne, wife of Thomas Rymer, last recorder of Holt, who died 25th September, 1871, aged 60. [Her husband, who died 24th February, 1887, aged 76, is buried in the churchyard adjoining.]
7. Brass near north door to the memory of Roger and Justina Duttou of Grafton Hall, who died 1st November, 1767, aged 10 ;
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 329
to Roger Dutton of Grafton Hall, who died 1st January, 1799, aged 66^ and to Justina Dutton of Grafton Hall, who died 1st January, 1799, aged 66. [See the notes of entries from registers given towards the end of this chapter.]
And there was formerly in the church an inscription, supplied me by Mr. Edward Owen from Harl MS. 2129, fol. 255, of which the following is a copy : — " Pray for the souls of Griff, ap Meredith,^ and of Jonett his wife, and Jo. his son : the foresd Griff passed to Almighty God the 16 day of the month of March, 1494, on whose soules and all Xtian soules Jesus have mercy, Amen."
At the vicarage is a silver mug, belonging to the church, not now used, inscribed : — " The gift of Mr. Tho" Crue, 1756," made in London, as the hall-marks show, in 1755. The sacramental vessels in use consist of a chalice and paten.
The church is, and for centuries has been, under the invocation of St. Chad, whose feast is on 2nd March. But the parish rush-bearing occurs on the first Sunday in August, and the wakes were on the day following. They are thus now coincident with the August Bank
Holidav.
Until the restoration of the church in 1871-3, rushes used to be strewn in the pews on rush-bearing Sunday, where they remained until the week before the first Sunday in August in the year following. Now, flowers are placed on the graves in the churchyard on the same Sunday in August every year.
Why were the wakes not coincident with St. Chad's Day ? It is difficult, if not impossible to answer this question. Perhaps an earlier consecration of some other church, within whose area of service Holt and Isycoed were, is here preserved, and one thinks of the old boardland chapel of St. Peter in Allington at
^ Perhaps the Griffith ap Meredith ap Morgan [ap David], who was living ia the 23rd year of Henry YII, and a member of the gafael of Madoo ap Qwrgeneu of Hewlington.
330 THE TOWN OF HOLT,
Rosset. But whether this chapel was dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle or St. Peter ad Vincula, we do not know. In the latter case, the feast-day would be on the 1st of August. A pretty theory might be built up on this circumstance, but there are practical diffi- culties in the way of its acceptance.
The restoration of the church (1871-1873) involved a great deal of change, and cost about £4000. As in most cases of this kind, it is difficult, after so long an interval, to learn the details of what was then done. But cart-loads of dead bodies were taken out of the church, and re-interred, the floor levelled, and the chancel re-arranged. Many of the memorial slabs also disappeared.
The main entrance is through the tower, which is approached from Church Street by a long gravelled road with grass on each side of it, the house to the north whereof is called ** The Lyte Gate" or " The Leet Gate," that is, '' The Lich Gate," or '* Corpse Gate.'' Also the present churchyard gates, made in Wrexham in 1816, stand at the extreme western end of this road or approach. But it is by no means certain that the road in question lay always within the churchyard. For, firstly, the right is still exercised of taking carts along it to the field north of the churchyard ; and further, as has already been said, there was once an old road, parallel with the present Church Street, passing from the castle, directly in front of the tower and so to the bridge and ford. Parts of this old road are still easily recognisable, and a bit of what had been a portion of it was only added to the churchyard at the south-west end of the latter about 1881. In other words, the present approach to the church seems to have been once a connecting public way from Church Street to the old disused readjust named.
It will be noted that there are only a few gravestones on the north side of the church. This is due partly to the feeling, once widely prevalent, that there was something uncanny, something less sacred than the
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 331
rest of the churchyard, about the north side. See the discussion on the whole matter in Elias Owen's Stone Crosses of the Vale of Clwyd^ pp. 196-199. But the aversion to this side is now due mainly to the wish of people to be buried near, or on the top of, their forbears and kinsfolk. In 1880 an inquiry was held at Holt before a Government commissioner as to the crowded condition of the churchyard there. It was pointed out that plenty of room remained for burials on the north-west side, but the feeling was so strong in favour of an extension of the churchyard in another direction that the commissioner was led to say that the Holt folk were quite willing to allow their grand- mothers to be disturbed so long as they might lie themselves, when buried, where those bones had lain. Soon after this, what had been a part of the old road from the castle to the bridge was taken in to the churchyard on the south-west side, and forms the new part, the old part of the churchyard beiDg closed by order dated 2nd March, 1881.
On the pillar which supports the dial to the south of the churchyard are the following letters : T. p. w. R. c. w. 1766. By T. P. we are probably to understand the initials of Thomas Pate, and c. w. stand for church wardens. The dial shaft looks like a Roman column of debased form, the capital whereof has been adapted to bear the churchwardens' initials and the date at which it was set up in the churchyard. The column has a distinct entasis, bears the marks of fire, and is about 4 ft. high. It may have come at first from a hypocaust on the Wall Lock, the Roman site in Holt, but its history cannot certainly be traced.
It is now possible to resume the discussion of the stipend of the minister of Holt. The Rev. Philip Henry, writing apparently in 1654, says that the income of *'the living" was then about £45 a year, which could, he believed, be increased to £65, and that the mayor of the town, " a very godly person," would lodge the preacher at his own house until further
THS TOWlf OP HOLT,
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Shaft of Sun-dial, Holt Churchyard
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 333
provision could be made. The actual stipend — £45 yearly — named is more than we should expect from what is known to us. Perhaps the difference between that sum and the fixed but lower income available, according to Bishop GastreU, at a later time was made up by voluntary subscriptions, and Philip Henry looked to such subscriptions, or to a grant from the Council of State, for the augmentation of *'the living" which he anticipated. We know that in 1656 the Council of State increased the stipend of ** the preacher at Holt " (Rev. Ambrose Mostyn) to £100. The mayor men- tioned by Philip Henry was, it would appear, that pious and fair-minded Puritan, Mr. Griffith Roberts, and we note in the letter that there was then no house for the incumbent or curate's sole use.
The increase to £100 noted above lapsed, of course, at the Restoration, but after the Rev. Richard Taylor, Mr. Mostyn's successor at Holt, had been " silenced " there, Mr. Griffith Roberts came soon to the rescue. On the 26th October, 1664, he appointed trustees, namely [Captain] Roger Sontley, of Common Wood ; William Speed, the elder, of Hewlington,' gent. ; Randle Crue, the younger, of Holt, gent. ; Ambrose Lewis, of Wrexham, gent. ; and Nathaniel Cooke, of Chester, skinner (nearly all known Puritans and Presbyterians), and settled on them the house in which he lived, together with the parcels of land thereto belonging, called [severally] " The Half Acre," lying at the west end of the said messuage, lately purchased from Thomas Hutchins; "The Middle Hall Field," . . . divided into two parcels ; the field in Hewlington,^ divided into two parcels, and the Highfield, bought lately from Thomas Hutchins, and also one cottage, containing two bays of building, situate in a lane called Pepper Street, in Holt, to the only use of the testator during his life ; and after his death, as touching the said
^ The field ia Hewlington is still divided into two parcels, called Great and Little Hewlington, and these, with the Highfield and Schoolfield, contain 18 acres.
334 THE TOWN OF HOLT,
messuage and parcel of land called '* Half Acre,^ * " to the use of the Minister of Holt aforesaid for ever, for his further encouragement in the faithful discharge oF his holy calling, provided only that he be a constant Preaching Minister in the said town of Holt, and that he own and profess the true Protestant faith." From this we see that the present vicarage of Holt represents the house in which Mr. Griffith Roberts formerly lived, and that the orchard and croft of the vicarage apper- tained also to Mr. Roberts' house. The testator goes on to say that the trustees and their successors were to hold the Middle Hall Field, to keep up a monthly lecture alternately in the chapels of Nerquis and Treuddyn, in the parish of Mold, namely 105. for each lecture, and the residue of the profits of the said field to the use of Richard Taylor,* second son of Edward Taylor, of Bedwell, county Denbigh, for life ; and after his death, to the use of the schoolmasters of Nerquis and Treuddyn, to be divided equally between them. Then, as to the field in Hewlington and the Highfield, the rents of these were to go to various persons named in the will for life, and afterwards to erect a free school in Holt, and to endow the school- master thereof, or if he should be negligent, the same to be distributed among the poor of Holt until a more fit person should be found, or, if the trustees should be hindered in appointing a schoolmaster, the profits were to be for the use of a schoolmistress in Holt, who should be approved by the Trustees. And the cottage in Pepper Street was to be for two poor widows of Holt and the liberties thereof. The names of the trustees to the deed were : Ed. Taylor, John ffarrer, Samuel Crue, Jacob Sontley, and Richard Taylor. Mr. Griffith Roberts was buried on 25th
^ For a full acconut of this docaraent, see Cheshire Skeaf for 1891, pp. 83 and 84.
^ See p. 836, afterwards among the list of the ministers of Holt.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 335
March, 1667, on which day Philip Henry writes: — *' This day was bury'd my dear Friend, Mr. Griffith Roberts, an old servant of J. Xt. Hee left most of his estate to publike pious uses, and nowsleepes in Jesus/' The record of his burial in Holt register is almost illegible, but here is as much of it as can now be read : " 1667, Martij vicessimo quinto sepultus . . . Griffith Roberts, vir egregiee pietatis et ad omnia charitatis opera . . . issimus Ecclesiae et ScholsB de Holt patronus inter . . • illustrissimus."
Bishop Gastrell, of Chester (1714-25), noted that the parishioners of Holt chose their own ministers, with the approbation of the bishop. But the Dean and Chapter of Winchester, although, as has been said before in this chapter, taking practically all the tithes, insisted on the presentation, and all ministers sub- sequent to the Rev. John Adams were presented by them. The following quotation from Archdeacon Thomas' History of the Diocese of St Asaph, p. 816, first edition, gives a condensed account of the gradual raising of the minister's stipend after 1725: — ** The incumbent's income meanwhile arose from grants of £200 each, made by Queen Anne's Bounty, to meet similar benefactions in 1725 by Sir Richard Grosvenor and others, in 1827 by the Rev. J. R. Edwards, incumbent, and in 1828 by the Dean and Chapter of Winchester : these sums were invested in the purchase of 50 acres of land in Allington and 3 in Holt — rental £50, to which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have added an augmentation of £297 out of the tithe-rent charge."
The '* Tithe Garden," still so called, represents the site of the old tithe barn, which has now entirely disappeared. This site is on the north side of Wrex- ham Road.
Here follows an annotated list of the curates or ministers of Holt^ so far as their names can at present be ascertained.
336 the town of holt,
Incumbbnts op Holt.
The late Mr. Ellison Powell found in the will of John Dutton, gent, of Holt (proved at Chester, 11th September, 1574), that the testator desired to be buried by his friend, Sir Hugh Webster, then curate of Holt Church.
With the exception of this Sir Hugh Webster, not a single incumbent or curate is mentioned by name,^ so far as is known before the end of the Commonwealth era. The chaplains of the chantry in the church and the chaplains of the castle chapel are not here, and ought not to be taken into account.
At some date between 1653 and 1659, Philip Henry wrote to Dr. Owen, Chancellor of Oxford, concerning the supply of " a vacant curacy" at Holt. It would appear from internal evidence that this letter,^ which has been already mentioned (see p. 83), was written in 1654, and that the mayor spoken of therein was Mr. Griffith Roberts. As to the qualifications of the candidate, Mr. Henry writes : — " He must in a Judgment of Charity be one that fears God, in regard he comes not to a place that never heard of Christ (as many such there be in Wales), but to a knot of eminent, discerning Christians, scarce the like any- where hereabouts, among whom there are divers able indeed to be themselves Teachers of others, so that if he himself be one that hath no savour of the things of God, he will be no way acceptable or useful there." This turn of phrase seems to imply that the curate of Holt who had died, or departed, soon before this date had himself been a Puritan. However this may be, we find in 1656 Council of State increasing the salary of the Rev. Ambrose Mostyx, M.A., minister of Holt, to £100 yearly. He was a son of Dr. Henry Mostyn, of Calcot, in the parish of Holywell, and had matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1659, he left Holt to become the Presbyterian vicar of Wrexham, and died in London in December, 166.3. Mr. Mostyn was followed as minister of Holt by a Mr. Richard Taylor, who had been educated at Oxford, and was very possibly Richard, second son of Captain Edward Taylor, connected with the parish of Holt through the Preslands and otherwise. He stayed on for some time after the Restoration, and, being a man
^ ** Richard Hooker, clerke," lived at Holt in 1620, daring Nor- den's Survey of the town (see Chapter HI), bat whether cnrate in charge of the church is not stated.
' This letter, formerly in the possession of the late Colonel P. S. Hnmberston, will be fonnd printed fully on p. 33 of the Cheshire Sheaf for 1891.
m OOTTNTY DENBIGH. 337
of means, preached during that period without stipend, or at any rate, without the addition made to that stipend in 1656. After his ejection^ he became minister of a congregation at Barking, l^ssex, where he died, 12th August, 1697 (see Rees' Noncon- formity in Wales, p. 132).
In 1663 the Kev. John Bowky, eldest son of the Ee v. Andrew Bowry, became ** minister of Holt," the expression used for nearly two centuries thenceforth, with the possible exception of some cases to be discussed in their right place. Mr. Bowry married at Wrexham, on 18th November, 1663, Frances, daughter of Thomas Bradock, of Cae Howel, Shropshire, gent., by whom he had two daughters : Frances, born 24th September, 1664, and Elizabeth, bom 28th April, 1666. Mrs. Frances Bowry died in childbed, 28th April, 1666, of her second daughter ; and her husband, the Rev. John Bowy, did not long survive her, being buried at Holt, 16th Febniary, 186f.
Mr. Bowry was followed as " minister" by the Rev. Wiluam Jeffreys, fourth son of John Jeffreys, Esq., of Acton, by Margaret [Ireland], his wife. The Rev. Wm. Jeffreys was one of the elder brothers of Lord Jeffreys, Lord Chancellor of Eng- land, who was the fifth son of the above-named John Jeffreys. He died on the 29th June, 1675, and was buried at Holt on the 2nd July. His elder brother, Edward, the second son of his father, appears to have lived with him, and was buried at Holt, 9th March, 167^, having died on the 5th of that month.
The Rev. Daniel Brown is the next minister named in the registers. He died 18th May, 1705, and was buried at Holt on the 24th of the same month. He left by will some charities to the poor of Holt.
Then, in 1705, the Rev. John Adams, M.A., was elected, and, in spite of being disapproved by the Bishop, continued incum- bent of Holt until he died in March, 1748. He had a son Joshua, baptized 10th January, 172^. A "Joshua Adams, of Holt, gent.,'' was made a burgess on 6th October, 1740.
The Rev. William Nichols was presented in 1748 by the Rev. Thomas Cheney, Dean of Winchester, as minister of Holt, but there does not appear to be in the register, which, however, is very illegible about this time, any other notice of him.
He was succeeded by the Rev. John Wilkinson, who was buried at Holt, 14th July, 1 754.
Then, on the 1st September, of the same year, came the Rev. John Oleave, who signed the burial register once only as " minister," on 2nd October, 1754
6th 8BB., VOL. YIU. 24
338 THE! TOWN Of flOLT,
The Rev. Evan Evans, according to the register, " came Tn curate of Holt," 7th April, 1756, but could only have stayed two or three months.
And on the 18th August, 1756, began to officiate the Bev« Daniel Holloway, who remained until May, 1761.
He was followed on 2nd October, 1762, by the Rev. William Jones, as curate, who stayed only a very short time.
There is something bewildering about the status of the last four named, for although the regular incumbents of Holt were often styled " curates" or " ministers" only, one is apt to suspect that the word ''curate" is at this time beginning to be used in its modern colloquial sense and to designate persons put in by the Dean and Chapter of Winchester as merely temporary occupants.
With the presentation of the Rev. Edward Maurice, B. A., in 1763, the regular series of ministera or perpetual curates of Holt was resumed. He had before been of Jesus College, Oxford (where he matriculated 1st June, 1731, aged 20), and curate of Selattyn and Llansilin. He is said to have been son of Maurice Jones, of Pont y Meibion, which Maurice Jones was son of John Maurice, or Morris, one of the two elder brothers of Hugh Morris, the famous bard. The Rev. Edward Maurice died 17th December, 1778, aged 70, and was buried in Holt Church. The entry of the baptism in Holt register of " Edward, son of Edward Morris," on 19th September, 1767, is made in unusually large letters, but whether this Edward was son of the incumbent, and, if so, what became of him, is not known.
Mr. Maurice's successor was the Rev. Charles Allanson WiGHTON, previously curate of Gresford. He was son of Mr. Jaques Wighton, supervisor of excise at Wrexham, where he was baptized 16th October, 1747. He married, on 4th June, 1816, when 68 years of age, Catherine Jones of Red Hall, Holt, died 22nd May, 1825, and was buried in Holt Church.
The next incumbent was the Rev. John Robert Edwakds, M.A., lellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, bom 5th August, 1789, and died 17th April, 1877, having been Vicar of Holt tifty-two years, and the first incumbent having the title of " vicar" applied to him. He was buried in the churchyard, and was second son to the late Rev. Turner Edwards, vicar of Oswestry (who died 10th January, 1803). Vicar J. R. Edwards gave £200 towards the better endowment of the living.
After Mr. Edward's death the Rev. Henry Wray, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, was presented to the incumbency and enlarged the vicarage, although actually resident about six
tN COUNTY DENBIGH 339
hionths only, and exchanged livings after some two years from his appointment with the late vicar, Mr. Grey.
The Rev. Henry R. Grey, a most estimable and kindly man, resigned the vicarage in 1894, and went to live at Reigate, Surrey, where he became almost blind, and died in 1903.
The present vicar, the Rev. Jenkyn Jones, who succeeded Mr. Grey, was formerly one of the curates of Oswestry, and afterwards of Wrexham. 1 am under great obligations to him for the access he has allowed me freely to the parish registers.
The earliest assessment book now in existence of the chapelry of Holt begins in the year 1776. But Mr. W. Fergusson Irvine, of Birkenhead, has shown me his transcript of Bishop GastrelPs notes relating to Holt, and herein an earlier parish book is quoted from, which apparently belongs to the latter half of the seventeenth century.
The parish registers of Holt begin in 1661. The entries in the earliest one of these is written with ink which has faded very much, so that many of them cannot now be at all deciphered. However, the best use has been made of all the register books which the limits of this history will allow, and most of the results included in the notices of persons and families which have already been given. All references to the Roydons and other Isycoed families will be dealt with separately.
Nevertheless, a few entries, or summaries of entries, relating to persons of whom nothing has been said, or to some persons belonging elsewhere than to the parish of Holt, may be worth noting here. The additions in square brackets and the foot-notes are made by myself.
1663. Susanna, the dau*^ of Roger Sontley gent, bur'
[Captain Roger Sontley of Common Wood].
Oct. 24, 1665. Thomas Trafford of Com. Wood, bap**.
Jan' 22, 167|. Mr. John Bisbee of farndon, buried.
Dec. 22, 1675. Samuel Da vies, of Holt, gent., bur*.
May 25, 1675. ** Elizabeth Hanmer wife to Theophilus Hanmer of
Holt, gent, died and was buried."
Jan' 29, 167|. Charles Bradshaw, Sen' of Holt, died 27 Jan', buried.
Oct. 27, 1683. Theophilus Hanmer, gent, buried.
24"
340 tflt TOWN OF flOLf,
Apl. 10, 1696. " Margaret Dod reputed 105 years old was buried."
Oct. 29, 1697. Thomas Hughes, schoolmaster, buried. [He was
schoolmaster in 1675]. Oct. 13, 1698. Charles Bradshaw esq' buried.
Nov. 1, 1702. Kath* Billington, Plaes Jenkins [Plas Jenkin] bur^.
Apl. 22, 1704. George Yale Died at Place Jenkin buried.^
Oct. 11, 17U. " Mr. Peter Potter of Chester, Bookbinder and Mrs- Mary Puleston^ of [Pwll yr uwd] Wrexham,
Spinster," married. Jan^ 19, 17 1|. Mrs. Eliz. Edgerton Interred. Jan', 172|. "John Hughes Interd apwll yd [of Pwll yr uwd,
Wrexham]. Apl. 3, 1734. Mr. Thomas Billington, gent., buried. Dec. 2, 1738. " Mrs. Rebwka Billington relict dyed 29 Nov.,"
buried. July 20, 1740. John Dicas & Frances Addams, both of Chester,
married. Oct. 16, 1740. Mrs. Elizth. Bradshaw, relict of Charles Bradshaw
of Holt bur*. Mch. 31, 1741. Thos. son of Thos. Billington of Holt, gent., buried. May 22, 1742. "Mr. George Scklusbury Townshend son of John
Townshend of Holt esq' was baptized." Dec. 10, 1742. Frances, wife of John Garden of the marsh house
near Farndon, buried. Mch. 28, 1746. "Mistress Deborah Walthall, wife of Mr. Richard
Walthall, buried. Mch. 11, 174f. Rachel Sutton, wid. buried. May 17, 1750. Roger Salusbury, buried. Jan' 28, 1753. Mrs. Jane Bradsha, buried. Apl. 11, 1755. Mr. Richard Kyffyn, buried. Mch. 28, 1757. " Master Henry Pace Schoolmaster of Holt Departed
this life." July 21, 1757. Mr. John Salusbury buried. Mch. 21, 1757. Roger Dutton Sen' [of Grafton] buried. Apl. 29, 1761. Mrs. Margaret Ormes wife of Mr. Orme of Eccleston
bur**. Mch. 10, 1762. Eendrick son of Rev. John Salisbury of Wrexam
bur*. Apl. 23, 1762. John, son of do., bur*. Aug. 25, 1767. Mr. John Speed from Tarvin Sen' buried. Nov. 4, 1767. Mary dau' of Roger Dutton of Grafton, buried. Feb. 24, 1770. Mrs. Elizabeth wife of Rev. Mr. John Salisbury of
Farndon bur**.
1 See my HUtory of the Country Townships of the Old Parish of Wrexham^ p. 221, note 13.
* See my History of the Town of Wrexham^ etc., p. 247.
IN COUNTY DENBIGH 341
May 11, 1770. Mary dau' of Rev. John Salisbury of Holt, bnr^
May 20, 1771. James Gartsides, of Holt, gent., bur^
Dec. 23, 1773. *'The Reverend John Salasbury of Farndon, rector
of Ightfield in co. of Salop, died 18 Dec""" buried. Oct. 19, 1787. Mrs. Elizabeth Wrench of Chester, bur^ [Mr. Charles
Wrench was Mayor of Holt in 1769]. Feb. 22, 1788. John Hey wood of par. of Manchester, gent, d^ Rebecca
Dutton of par: of Holt, spinster, married. Aug. 27, 1789. John Leche of Stratton esq' k, Margaret Jones,
spinster of Holt [Holt Hill] married. 10 Jan^ 1795. Roger Dutton of city of Chester buried. 22 Jan', 1798. William Duckers of the Grange in Alford, buried. 2 Dec., 1801. John Lloyd of Newcastle under line bur^. 21 Aug., 1801. Thomas Boydell son of John Jones Golbome esq' of
Holt k Augusta Frances his wife, bom 20 Aug.,
bapt. 16 Mch., 1802. Mary wife of Thomas Lloyd^ of Holt esq'. 25 Apl., 1803. Augusta Frances da' of John Jones Qolborne esq.
& Augusta Frances his wife, bom 11 Apl. bapt. 25 Nov., 1805. John Griffiths of Holt bur* N.B. 105 years."
25 Nov., 1806. Charles Gartside^ of Wrexham, bur^. 10 Dec, 1810. John Palin, schoolmaster, bur^.
2 Mch., 1812. John Bardsley of Hoseley [Horsley Hall] esq. buried. 24 Jan^, 1812. John Scholes Grundy esq. of par: of Manchester,
<b Emma Morris of par: of Holt, married.
26 July, 1815. Roger Entwistle of par: of Manchester, esq. k
Elizabeth Morris of par: of Holt, married.
3 Dec', 1839. Wm. Basnet Edwards (3rd son of late Rev. Turner
Edwards vicar of Oswestry) [and younger brother of Vicar Edwards of Holt J of Chester, buried, aged 42. 3 Nov., 1862. John Dundas Malcolm, ci^t. 28th reg^ of Holt,
buried, aged 38.
At the Bishop of Chester's visitation in 1684 (see Cheshire Sheafs July, 1896), the after-named Won-
^ Mr. Edward Hughes, of Bersham Road, Wrexham, tells me that this Thomas Lloyd was son of Mr. Robert Lloyd, of Lledrod, in Llanailin parish.
' In the ChesUr Chronicle for 29th November, 1805, the death of this Mr. John Griffith is noted, and he is described as being in his 103rd year.
^ This Mr. Gartside married on 25th March, 1781, at Wrexham, Miss Rebecca Essey Morrall, a daughter of Margaret, who was the wife of Josiah Morrall, of Cilhehdre, and sister of Sir Edward Lloyd, of Pengwern, Bart.
THE TOWN OP HOLT 343
conformists of the parish of Holt [and Isycoed] were presented " for absenting themselves from ye divine service of the Church, and not receiving the Sacrament there/' namely, "Urian Weaver [of the Park farm, in Dutton y brain], Anna Lancelett. and William Whittakers/'
There were, according to the returns made to the Bishop of Chester in 1 717, twenty-five Roman Catholics in Holt parish, which then included Isycoed. .One branch of the Crues seems to have belonged to this body. And among the MSS. of Lord Edmund Talbot there is a letter, dated 3rd June, 1737, from James Roche to the Countess of Shrewsbury, to which is prefixed a paper certificate, bearing date 13th December, 1737, which runs thus: — ''We the undernamed do hereby certify that James Roche, son and heir of Maurice Roche, late of Holt, in the county of Denbigh, esq', is the next heir male to Maurice Roche, late of the city of Cork, esq., and that the said Maurice Roche, dying without issue male, seiz'd of a very considerable ancient family estate in the said city of Cork, and the said James Roche, being by his death well and justly entitled to enter immediately into the said estate, and to enjoy the same to him and his heirs, one Francis Kearney, esq., who married an only daughter of the said Maurice, having after the said Maurice's death, possessed himself of all the deeds relating to the said estate, and finding among them a counterpart of a deed made to the said James since the Acts against Popery, as a further assurance of his enjoying said estate after the said Maurice's death, and believing or being per- suaded that the said James Roche would not for any worldly consideration turn Protestant, the said Kearney, who was always before of the Catholic reli- gion, turned Protestant, and as a Protestant discoverer on the said Popery Acts, sued the said James Roche for the said estate and recovered all the said estate from him because the said James did not, or would not, become a Protestant." James Roche says further in
344 THE TOWN OF HOLT, IN COUNTY DENBIGH
his letter of 3rd June, 1737, that " Maurice Roche, esq., who lately possessed the estate mention'd was the elder brother s son, and I am the younger brother's son, so that my right is exactly as his was from the moment he dy a without issue male." The main estate referred to was ** the mannour and lordship of Dun- derrow, part of it in and near Cork, and part of it in and near Kinsale" (Vol. ii, Report on MSS., pp. 313-315).
Here, in conclusion, may be recorded the fact that there was once a bell-founder at Holt. Mr. C. A. Pritt gives in The Cheshire Sheaf for 8th April, 1891, the following copy of entry from Wallasey parish church registers : " Mem, that vppon the seventeenth day of June An'o Dni, 1624, the first Bell belonging to this church was new cast by William Clibbery,^ Bellfounder at ye Holt alias the Towne of Lyons, the new casting whereof cost 7li. and 12c?. That is to say, Hi. 10*. for casting it, and 51*. for ffifty pound of mettall that was added to it."
^ This man doubtless belonged to the famous bell-founding family, Burnamed '* Cliburj," the members whereof were scattered through- out a great part of Shropshire William Clibnrj was, it is probable, onlj temporarily resident at Holt.
345
TINTERN ABBEY
By JAMES G. WOOD, M.A., F.S.A.
I.
The Foundation and the FoaNDER.
Of the fifty-four religious houses for men founded in Wales and the Marches in the eleventh and following centuries, fifteen were Cistercian abbeys. The remaining thirty-nine were distributed between eight other orders, the Benedictine having two abbeys — Bardsey* and St. Dograaels — seven priories and eight cells.
Of the five nunneries in the same district, two — Llanlugan in Montgomery and Llanleir in Cardigan — were under Cistercian rule ; while Usk, Acornbury, and Lymbrook Priories were as to the first Benedictine, and as to the other two, Angus tinian.
It will be convenient here for the purpose of reference to give in tabular form the dates and names of the founders of these fifteen Cistercian abbeys : —
A.D. 1129. Neath, in the Lordship of Glamorgan, by Richard de
Granville.
A.n. 1131. Tintern, in the Lordship of Striguil, by Walter Fitz-
Eichard.
A.D. 1131. Basingwerk, in Flintshire, by Ranulph, Earl of
Chester.
A.D. 1143. Whitland, Carmarthenshire, by Bernard, Bishop of
St. David's.
A.D. 1143. Cwmhir, Eadnorshire, by Cadwathelan ap Madoc.
^ In ooanting Bardsej as a Benedictine abbey I am following Dom. Gasquet, in his Monastic Life, Mr. Willis Band, on the other hand, says there was no Benedictine abbey in the Welsh part of Wales {Celtic Church in Wales), Perhaps it is easier to say what part was Welsh than what was not.
346 TINTBBN ABBEY .
A.D. 1147. Margam, in the Lordship of Glamorgan, by Robert,
Earl of Gloucester.
A.D. 1150. Dore, Herefordshire, by Robert de Ewias. j
A.D. 1150. Flaxley, Gloucestershire, by Roger, Earl of Hereford.
A.D. 1164. Strata Florida, Cardiganshire, by Rhys ap Gruffydd.'
AD. 1170. Strata Marcella, Montgomeryshire, by Owain Cyfei-
liog, or Madoc ap Griffin Maelor.
A.D. 1179. Lantarnam, in Caerleon and Edelegon (founder un- certain),
A.D 1185. Aberconway, Carnarvonshire, by Llewellyn ap lor-
werth.
A.D. 1200. Cymnier, in Meirionydd, by Llewellyn ap lorwerth.
A.D. 1200. Valle Crucia, in Tale and Bromfield, by Madoc ap
Griffin Maelor of Powis.
A.D. 1226. Grace Dieu, in Monmouth Lordship, by John of
Monmouth.
It will be noticed that of these fifteen abbeys, at least five owe their origin to a Welsh founder.
If we are to account for the comparative preference thus shown for Wales in the planting of the abbeys of the Cistercian Order, we must take into consideration the place and circumstances of the formation and the objects of the order.
The distinction between the Benedictine Order and the Cistercian has not always been sufficiently noted. The latter may be said to have been a sapling, rather than a branch, of the former. The Benedictine, founded in the sixth century, had in time developed a system and rule less strict than its founder had imposed. When the Abbey of Citeaux was founded in 1098, it was sought there to restore the primitive conditions. This was accomplished by Stephen Harding, an English- man, who became the third Abbot of Citeaux in 1109, assisted largely by St Bernard, who founded in 1114 one of its first daughter abbeys at Clair vaux. The fame of St. Bernard, and the fact that in France the
^ Probably ; but see Mr. Williams' work on Strata Florida, and Mr. Willis Band's paper, " Who was the Founder of Strata Florida ? " in Arch, Camb., 1889, pp. 6-18.
TINTERN ABBEY 347
order became from him more generally known as the Bernardino, has somewhat tended to obscure the early history of the order ; but it must be remembered that Citeaux ever remained the mother or central house of the whole order, and that the principal part in its establishment was that of Abbot Harding.
Citeaux was situated about the middle of the eastern part of France on a small tributary of the SaAne a few miles south of Dijon, on the eastern slopes of the Montagues de la C6te d'Or. These are now thickly covered with vineyards, but in the early days of Citeaux the place was a wilderness. Remote from the great centres of life, but offering every opportunity for development by hard work, it was exactly the place in which to practise the simple but active life which was the ideal of the order.
Every Cistercian abbey was complete in itself and separate from all others in its administration. But the constitution of all was uniform, and could not be altered without the concurrence of the annual meeting of the whole number of abbots at Citeaux. There were no priories or subsidiary houses as in other orders. Every abbey was founded from, and as the daughter house of, another ; and so continuity and uniformity of work and system wei*e secured. Thus, of the houses I have named, Strata Florida was founded from Whitland; and Lantarnam again from Strata Florida ; while Kingswood, on the borders of Gloucester and Wilts, was founded from Tintern.
Of the Welsh Cistercian abbeys, Tintern was, as appears from the list, second in point of date ; being preceded two years earlier in 1129 by Neath, which itself was only two years later than the establishment of the first Cistercian abbey in England. So that, with Harding still at Citeaux,^ we may well believe that in the choice of sites for these early abbeys the monks were naturally led to seek places such as would compare
1 He died in 1134.
348 TINTEBN ABBEY
with Citeaux, and these were to be found more readily in Wales than in most parts of England. The situation and surroundings of most of them at the time of their foundation must have recalled all the associations of the earlier at Citeaux.^
I pass from these general observations to the circum- stances of the founding of the abbey.
We are precisely on the eastern border of the Marches of Wales. At the time of the foundation sixty-five years had passed since the Conquest. For three centuries before that event the district between the estuaries of the Severn and Wye, after a period in which it was a sort of no-man's land and every British place-name east of OflFa's Dike had been wiped out, had become gradually settled under Saxon rule. From immediately opposite Tintern, down to the mouth of river, Tidenham on the left bank had by the days of Edwy become and remained an established manor with all the characteristics of Saxon feudalism.
During the later days of the Saxon monarchy the Saxons gradually crept westward of the Wye, along the shores of Severn as far as the Usk, and by the time of the Conquest a considerable part of South Mon- mouthshire was in Saxon hands. Not that the Welsh were to any great extent driven out in this part It is a point to be noted, that even long afterwards, and well into the fourteenth century, Welsh tenants are men- tioned and Welsh customs found to prevail in this dis- trict under Norman lords and their successors, as in many parts of Glamorgan ; and this was particularly the case immediately round Tintern, where even to-day the number of Welsh place-names is very large.
The Conqueror bestowed all this district on both sides of the Wye on William FitzOsbern, the first builder of Chepstow (or Striguil) Castle. Under cir- cumstances, however, which we need not here consider
^ The situation of Waverley among English abbeys foanded the year before Neath on the Wey at the foot of the Surrey Hills aooords with the same idea.
flNTEllN. ABBEY 349
(as they relate rather to the history of Chepstow Castle than that of Tintern Abbey), the whole was again in the hands of the Crown at or soon after the beginning of the reign of Henry I. These were the days of the creation of the great Marcher Lordships, which so long acted as an eflfective barrier between the unconquered part of Wales and the realm of England. To maintain this barrier it was necessary to reconstruct FitzOsbern's lordship, which was, later known as the Lordship Marcher of Striguil. This was conferred by Henry I on Walter FitzRichard, whom we have to deal with to-day as the founder of Tintern Abbey. When precisely the lordship was so conferred it is impossible to say. Certainly he was in possession in the middle of the reign of Henry I, and I think the grant may be safely put at about 1115.
The lordship extended down the right bank of the Wye from the mouth of the Trothy to the Severn, and extended westward to the Usk, with the exception of the Bishop of LlandaflTs Lordship of Mathern and the Lordships of Caldicot, Goldcliff, and Lebeneth. The Manors of Tidenham and Woolaston, on the left bank of the Wye, were added later, and did not form part of Gloucestershire till the time of Henry VIII.
As Lord Marcher, Walter FitzKicnard had all sove- reign rights within his district. To assign to him, as some wnters have done, a less position is wholly incon- sistent with the documentary evidence to be derived from the Tintern and other charters. He in exercise of those rights had power, which any tenant in chief other than a Lord Marcher had not, without any licence from the King to found a religious house within his lordship, and endow it with lands.
In founding the abbey, Walter FitzRichard was following the traditionary principles of his family. His paternal grandfather, Giloert Crispin, Comte d'Eu, founded the great Benedictine abbey of Bee Hellouin in Normandy. His father, Richard FitzGilbert de Bienfaite, gave Tooting Bee in Surrey to the same
350 TIKTEKN ABBEY
abbey. Walter's mother, Rohais, daughter of Walter Giffard, one of the Conqueror's companions, and Lady of Elnothbury (or Eynesbury) in Huntingdonshire, gave to the same abbey the Priory of St. Neots, which she founded. His uncle, William GiflEard, was Bishop of Winchester, 1107-1128; and another uncle, Walter GiflPard, Earl of Buckingham, was one of the first founders of the Cluniac Priory of Longueville, near Rouen, which was further endowed by gifts of Roger FitzRichard, the eldest brother of our founder. His next eldest brother, usually called Gilbert of Tonbridge, but in the charters called Gilbert FitzEichard, founded Tonbridge Priory, and as Lord of Cardigan granted the Priory of Llanbadarn Fawr to the Abbey of St. Petier of Gloucester.^ The only mention which I have found of Walter's wife Elisabeth is in a grant by them to the Abbey of Gloucester of Stonehouse Mill.
Walter was the third of the five sons, by his wife Rohais, of Richard FitzGilbert de Bienfaite or Clare, who died in 1091. I have mentioned his two elder brothers, of whom Roger took his father's Normandy estates, and Gilbert took his father's English estates in Kent and in Cardigan. His younger brothers were Robert FitzRichard, and Richard who was the last Abbot of Ely before the creation of the bishopric.
Henry I held his Easter Court in 1127 at Woodstock, at which the agreement of compromise, to be presently mentioned, of the disputes between Bishop Urban of LlandaflT and Robert of Gloucester, the Lord of Glamorgan, was executed, in the presence of the King of Scotland and a brilliant assembly of bishops and nobles, among whom we find Walter FitzRichard taking precedence third after the earls.*
Henry I died December 1st, 1135, and Stephen, having been crowned as his successor on the 25th of
^ UisL et Cart, Man, Glauc.y ii, 73, seq. ; AntiqiLaryf vol. xzxyiii, p. 309, seq,
^ Lib. Landav., p, 29^ Evaus' edition^
TINTBRN ABBEY 351
the same month, went to the funeral of the late King at Reading Abbey. There he was met by a large number of the nobles, and among them Walter Fitz- Richard, his brother Robert, who became a royal chamberlain, and his nephew Baldwin. We find Robert and Walter again in attendance at Stephen's Court at Westminster.* It is obvious, therefore, that our founder enjoyed a high social and political position, and that Stephen had taken an early opportunity of winning him to his side.
Walter died in 1138 and was buried in Tintern Abbey. As he died childless, the Striguil estates reverted on his death to the Crown, under the feudal rule that lauds could not devolve to the collateral heirs of the first feudatory or grantee.* Stephen created Walter's nephew Gilbert, s6n of Gilbert of Tonbridge, Earl of Pembroke, and granted him the Lordship of Striguil, with additions. It is necessary here, in face of constant misstatements, to say that this Gilbert (1138- 1148) and his son and successor Richard (1148-1176) were the only two persons who had the surname " Strongbow."
I have thought it well to give these particulars of the founder in order the better to deal with a persistent statement commonly made that he founded the abbey at the dictation of Bishop Urban of LlandaiF as a reparation for alleged spoliation of the lands and revenues of the Church. This statement is absolutely without any warrant, but it has been repeated as confidently as if there were the clearest evidence to support it. The facts I have stated are enough to show its inherent improbability. I repeat what I have written elsewhere, that the absolute contrary is the fact : the Cistercian abbeys, as well as others, were founded, not at the dictation, but in spite, and contrary
^ Round, Geoffrey de MandevUU, p. 10, seq.j and authorities there cited, and Oesta Stephant, p. 12.
^ See Cujacius de Feodo.
352 tlNTEHN ABBEY
to the wish, of the Welsh Bishops. I proceed to make this proposition good.
Urban was a litigious prelate, and not over scrupulous in his litigation. Throughout his episcopacy he main- tained a bitter controversy with the Bishops of St. David's and Hereford as to the boundaries of their dioceses. In 1 1 1 9 he addressed to the Pope, Calixtus II, in person at the Council of Rheims his complaint as to the spoliation of his church by the Norman lords, and by the bishops of the adjoining dioceses, and through the subtraction of tithes by the monks and others. All were joined in one common indictment.
Let us consider what was the position at this time, Walter FitzRichard was in possession of the Striguil estate, the tithes of which had been given by his predecessor FitzOsbern to his Abbeys of Lira and Cormeilles, a gift necessarily confirmed by Walter, as it was later in the time of his successors. William Fitz- Baderon had succeeded to the estates of his uncle Guihenoc, who had some thirty years before founded Monmouth Priory, the possessions, churches, and tithes of which FitzBaderon nad confirmed to the Abbey of St. Florent, Saumur. Robert de Chandos had some six years before founded GoldcliflF Priory and annexed it and its possessions to Bee Hellouin. Winebald de Balun was in possession of the estates of his predecessor Hamelin, who had founded Abergavenny Priory some twenty years before. Payn FitzJohn was such a benefactor of the Church that in the Gloucester docu- ments he is spoken of as patron of the Church of Hereford, a circumstance not calculated to make him a persona grata at Llandaff.
The outcome of Urban 's complaint was that the Pope, with the Bishop at his elbow, issued a Bull addressed, primarily, to ** the monks, clerics, and canons" (i.«., regular clergy) of the Diocese of Llandaff; and, secon- darily, to Walter FitzRichard (who is put in the forefront) and, among others, the lords whoin I have just named, William FitzBaderon, Robert de Chandos,
TlNTBKl^ ABBBY 353
Winebald de Balun, and Payn FitzJohn, echoing Urban's complaint with no little additions, and speaking of the Church of Llandaff as '' monachorum quorumdam clericorum necnon et laicorum invasionibus et rapinis attritam ut in ea episcopus manere vix possit," and uttering divers warnings against the '* invaders."
It is obvious that the whole mischief was the diversion, to the use of the abbeys and the monks, of the tithes and emoluments which had before the Conquest been received by the Bishop of Llandaff and his secular clergy.
At the same time, to please Urban, the Pope addressed a series of documents to the clergy, the Archbishop, and the King as to the privileges and extent of the Diocese of Llandaff, and directing that Urban should be supported.
But like another (though apocryphal) imprecation at Rheims, Calixtus' warnings and threats fell flat; '* nobody seemed a penny the worse"; and matters went on much as before.
In 1126 Urban got up a quarrel with Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and Lord of Glamorgan, as to alleged interference with his privileges. This, I apprehend, was largely due to the EarFs extensive grants of lands and tithes in Glamorgan to his Abbey of Tewkesbury, which he had completed in 1 123. Urban thought it wise to compromise ; and an arrangement, already referred to, was come to at Woodstock before the King and his Court, including Walter FitzRichard and other Lords Marcher. This agreement, designed apparently to save the Bishop's prestige, gave him very little indeed, and left the Lord of Glamorgan practically where he w^as. It will hardly be suggested that when the Earl founded the Cistercian Abbey of Margam some twenty years later, he did it as an act of reparation.
Meantime the quarrel with the Bishops continued. In 1128 Urban went to Rome to present his claims afresh before the new Pope, Honorius II, from whom he procured, ex parte of course, a series of documents,
0TH aSB., VOL. VIU. 25
354 TINTBRN ABBET
almost replicas of those of CaJixtiis. Among these was another Bull repeating the old complaints, addressed as before to the monks and the lords, including Walter FitzRichard and the successors of several named in the former Bull who had died, and in addition Maurice, son of William de Londres, who in the mean- time had founded Ewenny Priory and attached it to Gloucester Abbey.
The trial of the case against the Bishops was 6xed for the following Easter at Rome. Urban attended and obtained judgment by default, in the absence of the other parties, though he must surely have known that they were coming ; and he promptly left, armed with a multitude of documents recording his victory.
But his triumph waa of short duration. Within three weeks he was followed by a Papal rescript, cancelling all that had taken place, on the ground that the Bishops had appeared after he left, and established a prima facie defence ; and ordering a new trial.
The case dragged on ; a dispute of Pope and Anti- pope retarded it; and after many adjournments it terminated only by the death of Urban in 1133, an event that was shortly followed by a decision of the Pope in favour of St. David's and Hereford.
Urban s claim against the monastic houses and their founders no doubt arose from his inability to grasp the change effected by the Conquest. The title to land by tenure, which was at the root of Saxon and Norman jurisprudence, had no counterpart in the Welsh. He could not appreciate the Norman principle that all land is held mediately or immediately of the Crown ; and that if the Crown's title is displaced, all titles depending on it, whether of the mesne lord or of his tenant, were displaced also. The Conquest determined all titles by which land, whether in lay or ecclesiastical hands, had been held ; and the new lords came in, not by an act of spoliation or trespass, but by a legitimate title derived from the new overlord. An instance of this happened immediately opposite our abbey. The Plum-
TINTlilltN ABBEY 355
weir on the Wye, and the land called Madgett's Pen above it, had for long years before the Conquest belonged to Maltaesbury Abbey. In Domesday Malmes- bury is returned as the owner ; but not under its old title, but under a new grant by William I. This weir and land were subsequently held by Tintern as tenants of Malmesbury down to the dissolution, at the annual rent of two marcs and five salmon, to be rendered on St. Aldhelm's Day.
That Urban's grievance would have been satisfied by the founding of another abbey it is impossible to suppose. It was, indeed, the very last thing he wanted. The men he was complaining of had already founded or were maintaining monastic houses, founded years before, and without his intervention, and enjoying, through those men, the lands and tithes he was seeking to recover. The foundation of Tintern was accompanied by a repetition of the very thing he complained of — the grant to the monks for its site of the lands of Forth Casseg which had belonged, as he asserted, to Llandaff. What he wanted was their restoration to LlandaflF, not a confirmation of their alienation to other uses.
Is it too much to hope that the suggestion that the founding of the abbey was due to anything but pure charitable and religious motives on the part of the founder — a suggestion dishonouring alike to him and to the great order which he benefited — will never again be repeated but to be rejected as a mere guess, founded, if it have any foundation, on a misunderstanding of the Bulls of Calixtus and Honorius ?
IL
The Builder of the Second Church.
But for some recent statements I should have thought it unnecessary to deal with this subject ; as it has been generally accepted that Roger Bigod, fifth Earl of Norfolk, who succeeded his uncle Roger, the fourth
26 2
356 TINTERN ABBKY
Earl, in 1270 and died in 1306, was the builder of the new church which replaced, in part on the same site, the original church of 1131 ; and this I believe to be perfectly correct.
Of the statements which I refer to one asserts that the church was begun, in 1269, by Roger the nephew aud^fiRh Earl. This is wrong on the face of it ; for the fifth Earl did not succeed, as I have said, till 1270.
This inconsistency having apparently been noticed, but the date of 1269 being accepted," the commence- ment of the church has been attributed later to the fourth Earl.
I have been unable to discover any authority for the date 1269. What we do know as to dates we learn from the diary of William Wycestre, who was at Tin tern in September, 1478, and recorded his informa- tion that the new church was so far finished that the monks first used it for Mass in 1287, and the high altar was first used on October 3rd, 1288. He also gives a copy of the list of the " obits" of the founders and benefactors of the abbey, in which "December 7th" is noted as the day of the obit of " Roger, Earl of Norfolk, who built the church."
Now, it must be observed that the day on which an obit was kept was not necessarily the annivei'sary of the persons death. If that were already occupied, anotner as conveniently near to it as could be was selected. In fact, on comparing the list in question with actual dates so far as known, I find only one instance of actual agreement, but the difference is never more than a few weeks.
Now Roger, fourth Earl of Norfolk, who succeeded to the Striguil lordship and estates on the death in 1248 of his mother Maud, Countess of Norfolk and of Warren ne jure mariti (eldest daughter of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, by Isabella, daughter of Richard Strongbow), died on 4th July, 1270, and was buried at Thetford.^ This is too remote a date from
1 Flor. Wig,, ii, 206.
TINTBRN ABBEY 357
7th December' for the entry in the obittiary to refer to him. Besides, among all the records there is no trace of the fourth Earl having been a benefactor to Tintern at all.
On the other hand, the benefactions of Roger, the fifth Earl (apart from the question of the buildinj of the church) were numerous and valuable, an( extended over a great many years. The actual day of his death has been a matter of some controversy. -But an examination of numerous writs and inquisitions on his death, and particularly of the Pipe Roll accounts of the revenues of Striguil from his death, has satisfied me that the large majority of the documents agree in the day being the 6th December, 1306, being one day only distant from the day of the obit in the Tintern obituary.
I conclude, therefore, that we must reject 1269 as the date of the commencement of the church for want of evidence ; but that, whenever it was begun, the whole credit for it is due, on William Wyrcestre's evidence, to Roger, fifth Earl of Norfolk.
From the same writs and documents I also conclude that the Earl died at, or within a short distance of, Lanercost Priory, where the King then lay invalided on his way to the Scots war, the Earl being in attendance in his capacity of Earl Marshal. This is inconsistent with a common statement, untenable on other grounds, that he was forcibly dispossessed of his estates and died in disgrace with his sovereign.
On his death the Striguil estates escheated for failure of heirs to the Crown. It is to this circumstance that we are indebted for most of our knowledge of the benefactions to Tintern. The lordship, of which the monks held, being by this escheat merged in the Crown, their title was gone unless renewed and con- firmed by the King. This was done by Edward I in March and June, 1307, at Carlisle by four charters, in which are set out by way of " inspeximus" the grants of the various benefactors from Gilbert Strongbow to
858 TINTERN ABBEY
V
the then late Earl inclusive. These charters in fact replace, as far as they can, the missing cartulary of the abbey which undoubtedly existed, but was no doubt destroyed, as happened in most cases, at the Dissolu- tion. Unfortunately, they do not contain the original foundation grant of Walter FitzRichard, which his nephew Gilbert Strongbow however, as well as Henry II after the " anarchy," confirmed ; from which and sub- sequent confirmations it is perfectly easy to identify the limits of the foundation grant.
359
THE BRYNGWYN TUMULI
By PHILIP STAPLETON, a J.
The plateau, which occupies a considerable area of the west of Flintshire to the east of the Vale of Clwyd, is remarkable for the number of tumuli that occur within its boundaries.
The extent of this plateau is 4^ miles from north to south, and 5^ miles from east to west, and its height above sea-level averages 600 ft. Its northern limit is Gop Hill, above Newmarket, and the heights that run from above Prestatyn to Dyserth. The western boundary is formed by Moel Hiraeddug and the high ground between that hill and the village of Tremeir- chion. On the south the plateau abuts on to the valley of the Chwiler between Caerwys and Nannerch ; while on the east the Halkin mountain and the heights to the north-east of Holywell form a well-defined limit.
An early reference to the tumuli in this district occurs in an edition of Camden's Britannia, edited by Gibson (1695), in the " Additions" of the editor. The additions for Wales are the work of Mr. Ed. Llwyd, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. (Cf. Williams' Eminent Welshmen^ p. 289.)
The passage runs as follows : —
'' Within a furlong or less of this monument (i.e., the Maen Achwynfan, a stone cross situated at a cross-roads one mile west of Whitford) there is an artificial mount or barrow (whereof there are also about twenty more in this neighbourhood called 'y Gorsedheu'), where there have been formerly a great many carcases and skulls discovered, some of which were cut ; and one or two particularly had roimd holes in them, as if pierced with an arrow.*'
Pennant the antiquary was well acquainted with this district, as he lived at Downing, near Whitford, on
360 fHE BRYNOWYK TtTMULt
its eastern edge, and the number of tumuli in the neighbourhood naturally attracted his attention. In the second volume of his Tours in Wales (p. 108, Rhys' Edition, 1883), he writes : —
" The tract from hence (i.«., from the Gop near Newmarket) to Caerwys was certainly a field of battle : no place in North Wales exhibits an equal quantity of tumuli ; but all sepulchral, as is proved by iirns discovered in them. . . . Part of fiie brow of the hill is called Bryn-y-Saethau (Hill of Arrows)."
The Gop itself is crowned by the huge cairn, explored with great labour by Professor Boyd Dawkins in 1886-7. {Arch. Camh., 1902, p. 161.)
Most of the tumuli occur in the southern half of the plateau described above, and the following statement of Pennant refers to this portion : —
" Scattered over this part of the mountain are several rounded tumuli, and to the left at some distance is a work probably coeval with them." {History of the Parish of WhUeford and Holywell, 1796, p. 118.)
The district here indicated borders tbe high road from Holywell to St. Asaph, between the hamlet of Gorsedd and the Travellers' Inn. The work referred to is an oval enclosure called " Bwrdd-y-rhyfel," which lies in a wood between the racecourse and the open heath known as " Ffrith-y-garreg wen." So at least I interpret Pennant's description with the help of the Ordnance map and some knowledge of the ground.
In the same book (p. 114), when speaking of the Maen Achwynfan, Pennant adds : —
" Those who suppose it to have been erected to the memory of the dead slain in battle on the spot draw their argument from the number of adjacent tumuli containing human bones and skulls often marked with mortal wounds."
A later reference to the tumuli of this region is found in Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales^ 1843, S.V. Caerwys : —
"On almost every side of the village (Caerwys), but more particularly on the plains towards Newmarket, are tumuli, of
tHte BRYNGWYN WTMULt S6l
which several having been opened, were found to contain urns of clay rudely formed : some of these have been converted by the neighbouring farmers into lime-kilns."
The Bryngwyn tuniuli are situated at. the extreme south-west corner of the plateau already described, and centre round Bryngwyn Hall (see the accompanying map, Fig. I). The hall lies about midway between Caerwys and Tremeirchion, about a mile from either village.
Bryngwyn Hall is now the property of Mr. Thorny-
0
Fig. I
croft Vernon, and it is owing to his readiness to grant permission for the work, and to the active help of his friend Mr. M. A. Coates, that the present exploration has been undertaken.
There are six tumuli in the immediate neighbour- hood of the hall, differing in size and construction. Of these, three (Nos. 2, 3, and 5) are known to have been explored. Another, No. 4, made up of stones, has at some fairly recent period been practically destroyed. Nos. 1 ana 6 still await excavation. The explorations have been the work of the students of St. Beuno's College, which is situated a mile to the west of Bryn- gwyn Hall.
362 THE BRYNGWYK TtJMtTLI
Tumulus No. 2
This tumulus was opened in the aututnn of 1899, under the direction of the Rev. J. Luck, S.J. He has kindly sent me an account of his work, which I cannot do better than quote in his own words^ : —
" In October, 1899, by kind permission of the Rev. Mr. Thomas of Llewesog, the ownpr, and of Mr. William Nelson, the tenant of Bryngwyn, I, with the assistance of several other students of St. £3uno's College, carried out some excavations in the baiTOWS at Bryngwyn."
Father Luck began work on No. 2 (see map).
" The tumulus is a small one, measuring about six yards by four on the ground level, but though longer than wide, is, I believe, from its composition and the mode of interment, a round, not a long, barrow. It was interesting to find two old hawthorn bushes growing on the mound ; lor thorns are found so frequently on barrows all the world over that they may well be believed to be direct descendants of those planted by the original barrow builders. One side of the barrow had the appearance of having been disturbed, and the usual stories were afloat as to the place having been rifled for buried treasure — stories that, as the sequel will show, were probably true. .
" We started to dig on the ground level from the south side, and soon struck the usual dome of large stones, and after piercing this found the main interment about the centre of the mound slightly above the ground level, but in a most disturbed condition. The bones, which had been cremated and broken into small pieces, were mixed with stones and clay, all jumbled together with complete absence of the reverent care generally exercised by the original depositors. I concluded from this that the barrow had been dug into by those who had no scientific object in view. We carefully replaced the bones, and filled in the cutting, in doing which our efforts met with a small reward in the shape of a stone about the size of a man's foot, with a groove chipped round the middle and pointed at each end. This I judge to be a stone mattock (see Fig. II). It was presented by Mr. Nelson to St. Beuno's College.
^ Father Lack had already, in the year 1894, brought to a Baccessfnl iBsae the exploration of a tumulos on the banks of the Bibble near Stonyhurst College.
THE BRYNGWTN TUMUU 363
" We next visited the smaller of the two moands near the road (No. 4 on the map), which was said to hava been used as a quarry for stones to make the road some fifty years ago. A wide trench had been driven through the centre along the ground- level, and DO hope seemed to remain of finding any undisturbed deposit.
" The large mound standing about 30 yards from this one (No. 3 on t^e map) next claimed our attention, and we started to dig into it from the south-cast — the side most clear of trees. However, after making a cutting some 6 yards by 2 yards, the stratification of the sand led me to believe that the mound was a natural formation, and not a real barrow.
" On revisiting the place lately, I conld wot understand why
Fig. I!.-
I so readily despaired ; but I suppose I was sceptical, because I had recently been disappointed by a large mound near Stony- hurst, Lancashire, proving to be nothing but a heap of boulder clay, probably part of a terminal morain fashioned into the form of a long barrow by the action of the two rivers, the Kibble and the Calder.
"J. K. Luck, S.J."
TUMDLDS No. 3. The tumulus explored in 1908 is the one last men- tioned in Father Luck's account The reason which led to another attack on it was the finding of a piece of coarse pottery and a scrap of bronze on the surface of the mound.
Mi
tHE BftYKOWYN TtTMULt
The tumulus is of considerable size, and oval in plan, the base measuring 90 ft. by 80 ft. The longer axis lies south-west and north-east. Excavation was begun in
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0 10 zp 3Q 40 Feer Scale,
THE BT^YNGWYN TUMULI : N«a. PUn 4 Sfctt^t*.
Fig. Ill
the centre of the south-west face, and a general idea of the lie of the trenches may be gathered from the annexed plan (Fig. III).
The main body of the tumulus is made up largely of angular fragments of the local formation, Wenlock
THE BBYNOWYN TUMULI 865
shale, in a yellowish clay soil, a few waterworn pebbles also occurring. A band of clay of a greyish tint, varying in thickness from 3 ins. to 1 ft., ran through the whole mound a few feet below the surface, roughly parallel with the surface of the mound {a a of section. Fig. III).
As the work proceeded it became clear that the centre of the mound was occupied by a cup-shaped hollow (a in the section, Fig. Ill), scooped out of the material that forms the body of the mound. The diameter of this hollow was 9 ft., and its depth in the centre 3 ft. The material filling it was a black vegetable mould, riddled by rabbit burrows and full of pine needles and cones which had worked down from the surface.
At a lower depth (6 ft. in the centre of the tumulus) the material of the upper part of the mound was replaced by a darker material, with fewer angular fragments and more water- worn pebbles. The division between the two strata was visible everywhere where the trenches were sunk deep enough, even on the outskirts of the mound to the east of the centre.
There is also a well-marked division between this darker stratum (c of the section. Fig. Ill) and what lies below it. This latter is clay, mixed with angular fragments of the local shale weathered from the under- lying rock, and is of the same nature as the present subsoil in the neighbourhood of the tumulus.
Several rabbit burrows were found as deep as 6 ft. to 8 ft. from the surface of the mound, and a fox earth ran horizontally inwards from the east side at a diepth of about 3 ft. from the highest point and across the central region of the mound.
The well-defined division between the main body of the mound and the darker material beneath it (b and c of the section. Fig. Ill) was taken as a test to decide whether the tumulus had been dug into before or not.
The conclusion arrived at was that at the level at which this division occurred the material had nowhere been previously disturbed ; one point only must be
THB BRTHOWTN TUU0LI
excepted, viz., at the south-east ead, where the treach dug by Father Luck, S.J., in 1899 wag out into.
gtH^^j-*^
its position beiae; at once indicated by the looseness of the material. This conclusion is of importance in view of an account of a former excavation made in this same tumulus some fifty years ago. The late David Ellis, of TremeirchioD, several times stated to the writer tiiat
THE BRYNGWYN TUMULI 367
when he was employed as a labourer on the property immediately adjoining this tumulus, two labourers of the name of Eawards ran a trench from the north-east into the centre of the tumulus. There at the depth of some 12 ft. they discovered an urn furnished with a lid, and containing two skulls and other bones. As their search was for treasure, and seemingly in accordance with some instruction from certain persons directing the operations, they replaced the urn and its contents and rammed the earth down upon it. An attempt to prove the truth of this account explains the prolonga- tion of the trenches to the eastern edge of the mound (see plan. Fig. III).
The Finds.
After this general description of the tumulus and its construction, it remains to describe the finds made in the course of the digging.
The piece of coarse pottery found on the surface has been already mentioned. It is part of the rim of an urn, which must have measured about 12^ ins. across the mouth. The thickness is f in., and the bevelled rim is 1 in. deep, while the whole piece measures 3^ ins. by 2^ ins. (Fig. V).
Four other similar pieces, all of them smaller than the one figured, were found, and seem all to have belonged to the same urn. The outer surface in three cases is coated with a layer of carbon, and ornamented with a rough lozenge-shaped pattern of lines. One fragment which shows traces of a shoulder, the part below the shoulder being plain, while the part above shows the lozenge pattern, suggests that the top part only of the urn was ornamented.
The kindness of Father Gerard, S.J. enabled me to obtain an opinion from the British Museum authorities on the pottery, and it was declared to be the remains of a cinerary urn of the normal type of the late Bronze Age.
THB BBTHOWVN TUMDLI
THE BRYNGWYN TUMULI 369
The fragment of bronze picked up on the surface of the tumulus was submitted to the same authority. Its shape suggests that it was probably the tip of a knife, and it seems to have been through the fire.
All the pottery so far mentioned and this fragment of bronze were found either on the surface of the tumulus or in the bowl-shaped hollow a (Fig. III). A few bones and pieces of skull came also from the same spot. The former are not human ; the latter cannot be determined.
At a depth of 5^ ft., and somewhat to the north of the centre of the mound, a layer of stones was encoun- tered, forming a small cairn. Angular lumps of shale were mixed with water-worn boulders, the biggest stones weighing about 10 lbs. The area covered by this layer of stones was some 3 ft. (north to south) by 6 ft. (east to west) (Figs. Ill, section, and VI).
At 6 ft. from the highest point of the tumulus occurred a layer of charcoal. This layer was at the junction of the two strata B and c (Fig. Ill) ; it was thickest, about 1 in., and most abundant over an area of 3 ft. by 2 ft., but a little charcoal was found at different spots at the same level over a much larger area. One piece as found measured 9 ins. by 6 ins. by 1 in.
It is noticeable that except for a scrap or two this layer of charcoal did not extend under the stone cairn described above. A dorsal vertebra (not human) was found among the charcoal. At a spot marked m on the plan (Fig. Ill), and 7 ft. below the surface, was found the remains of an interment, occupying an oval hollow in the material of stratum c, measuring 2 ft. (east to west) by 1 ft. (north to south). The thickness of the deposit was 7 in., made up as follows : — Pure charcoal on the top, a grey ash next, then calcined bone, 1^ in. thick, and again 1 in. of pure charcoal (Fig. VI). The charcoal found in the tumulus is all oak, as I am able to state through the kindness of Mr. James Britten, K.S.G.,
OTH 8IE., VOL. vin. 26
THE BRYNOWYS TtJMOLI
F.L.S., of the British Museum (Natural Hifitory), who was good enough to submit it to examiDatioD.
Fig. VI.— Datail o£ Secondaiy Interment "m" of Plan
The bone fragments, none of them over 3 ins. in length, were examined by Mr. S. G. Shattock, the Putbological Curator of the Koyal College of Surgeons,
THE BRYNGWYN TUMULT 371
London, who very kindly reported on them in detail. One fragment, a piece of a lower jaw, is undoubtedly part of a human chin bone. Among the rest occur several pieces of jaw bone, some teeth, part of the temporal bone, etc. Some of the fragments from this same spot have been identified as non-human, though otherwise indeterminable.
A small splinter of flint was found at a spot to the north-east of the centre, about 3 ft. from the surface, and in the material of which stratum B is com- posed.
At the south end of the tumulus a natural flint pebble was picked up subsequently.
Towards the end of March, 1908, Professor J. L. Myres, of Liverpool University, visited the tumulus, and his indications as to how to proceed in the work led to the discovery of an inverted urn at a depth of 9^ ft., being A^ ft. below the junction of the strata B and 0 {d of Fig. III). It lay to the south-east of the burial already described. The urn was inverted, had no lid, and was altogether unprotected by stones or any kind of cist. When the surrounding earth had been removed it was found that the urn was much crushed by the weight of the earth above it ; the sides had given way and been forced out over the rim. A large hole in the side showed the urn to be filled with calcined bone, no fragment of which was above an inch or two in length. The photograph reproduced in Fig. VII shows the urn as it appeared before removal. Part of the rim is seen in the foreground. Fig. VIII shows the detail of ornamentation of both the outside and the inside of the rim. The pattern on the outside is a simple chevron design, and the inside is ornamented with rough horizontal lines, though at one spot a space of a few inches is filled with vertical lines. All the lines of the ornamentation have clearly been made with a twisted cord. Below the rim for a short distance rough indentations occur, but the rest of the urn is unornamented.
26 2
372
THE BRYHOWYN TOMULI
An attempt to piece the urn together has not met with much succeBB. The rim, however, has heen recovered fairly complete, though it is considerably contorted, and it meosureB about 15 ina. across the mouth. The material is a coarse gritty clay, which shows black and hard at the mouth of the urn, but reddish-brown and friable near the bottom.
Fig. VII. — Inverted um burLil found at depth of 9i ft. from summit of
Bryogwfn Tumulus
[PhoUtgraphai btfort Temoad)
A selection of the bone fragments from the urn was submitted to Mr. S. G. Shattock, who identified two pieces of the lower jaw (human) and human teeth, among them five crowns, well preserved and still in process of growth at the time of death.
A great number of the bones from the urn were stained with a dark metallic stain, which analysis has shown to be manganese dioxide, derived doubtless from the soil.
An interesting find among the bones filling the urn was a flint flake {l^ in. by fin.), worked into the shape
THE BRTKOWYH TDMDLI 373
of a triangular lance-head. It seenfis to have been through the fire.
A few tiny scrape of wood charcoal occurred among the burnt bones.
Kig. VIIL— DataiU of Rim of Cinerary Ui
CONCLUSIOMS.
The conclusions the writer here ventures to deduce from the nature of the finds, the mode of construction oT the mound, and the materials of which it is made, are put forward tentatively, and with no wish to impose them on the reader as certain.
Three stages can be made out in the construction of the tumulus. The lowest stratum c (Fig. IH) marks the earliest stage, and points to a low mound raised on the original surface of the ground to the height of about
374 THE BRYNOWYN TUMULI
4 ft. The material used in this case is distinguishable from the present subsoil of the neighbouring parts, which is of the same kind as that which underlies the tumulus itself
The urn interment was covered by this earliest mound to a depth of 3^ ft, and may be considered as the primary interment of the tumulus.
The interment found higher up (wi in the section, Fig. Ill) lay a foot deep in stratum c, the division between strata B and o being marked by a layer of charcoal free from bone fragments. As this layer was unbroken above the spot where the remains were found, it may be concluded that the fire which left the charcoal was subsequent to the burial below it. This layer of charcoal then was not the remains of the funeral pyre. The interment itself, with its accom- panying ash and charcoal, must have been the remains of a cremation collected together from some other spot and buried in the hole where it was found, as it is quite out of the question to suppose the body to have been cremated in a space 2 ft. by 1 ft., to which the bones and ash were completely confined.
Another noticeable fact in relation to the small cairn of stones (6 b in section, Fig. Ill) is that it did not lie over the interment but to the north of it. If the cairn was intended to cover the interment, how is this fact to be explained? No find of any sort was made underneath the cairn.
As to the interment itself, does it belong to the first stage (stratum c) or to the second stage (stratum b) ? It occurred certainly in c, but so near the surface that the original mound c can hardly be said to be raised over it. On the other hand, if it belongs to the second stage the raising of the second mound b over it seems to be natural. The cairn certainly belongs to the second stage, but its relation to the interment is not clear.
A third stage in the history of the mound is repre- sented by the hollow a (cf section, Fig. Ill) and the
THE BRYNQWYN TUMULI 375
surface finds of pottery and bronze. This had without doubt been disturbed^ perhaps in digging out ferrets, as the few fragments of pottery found were a small part only of a large urn.
I venture no judgment as to the relative ages represented by the three stages, and I can only trust that I have presented the evidence with suflScient clearness to enable those more competent than myself to form a judgment on the matter.
Tumulus No. 5.
The mound marked No. 5 on the map (Fig. I) proved on examination to be a natural rise in the ground. A trench 3 ft. wide was dug through the centre from east to west, and solid rock (Wenlock shale) was reached at a depth of 2 ft. 6 ins. A space measuring 6 ft. across in the centre of the mound had at some time been dug out and refilled with loose stones, a mixed lot of shale and limestone. Many of the stones, as well as the solid shale that formed the floor of the hole, showed signs of fire, and several clinkers were found near the surface. A thin layer of lime near the bottom suggests that the hole had been made use of to burn lime, though no memory of its use for this purpose exists in the neighbourhood.
Peter Bradley, an employee of St. Beuno's College, worked on the adjoining farm as a ploughman in 1861, and for some years previously. He reports, in reference to this mound, that while he was actually engaged in ploughing in the field close to it, some of the students of the college were digging into it, and he adds they discovered a pot with bones in it. I can trace no record of such work, though I have inquired of several who were students at the college at the period referred to.
Find op Flints.
In the immediate neighbourhood of mound No. 5 four flints have been picked up off* the surface of the
376 THE BRYNGWYN TUMDLl
ground. One has certainly been artificially worked to a point ; the others have probably been flaked by handi and one of them shows a well-marked bulb of percussion with an adjoining flat surface.
The plans and drawing which illustrate this account are the work of students of St. Beuno's College, to whom I render due thanks for their willing assistance. I have also to thank many who lent a hand when required in the digging operations.
377
MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES, PEMBROKESHIRE
By E. laws, F.S.A., and E. H. EDWARDS
There is, perhaps, no county in Wales that contains more monumental effigies than Pembrokeshire : eccle- siastics, knights and dames, townsmen and children— so numerous are those in the first class that we have left them out for future consideration. In the follow- ing pages we have tried to arrange these many statues according to date. As most of them are in a sadly mutilated condition, and not one of them is named, this has proved no easy task.*
Thirteenth-Century Figures
No. 1. Description of Mailed Effigy at Upton} — This effigy of a mail-clad warrior, according to Fenton,^ once stood on an ^dtar-tomb at the north end of an aisle of Nash Church, Pembrokeshire. The aisle was taken down, and the e^gy left to the mercy of the weather in Nash churchyard, where it lay overgrown with moss for many years. The late Lady Catherine Allen caused the figure to be put into the church again, and it has since been removed to the private chapel at Upton Castle, where it lies on a stone bench built to hold it on the south side of the chancel.
The effigy, owing doubtless to an exposure of seventy or eighty years, is much mutilated : the face, part of shield, hands, sword, legs, and the entire lower portion
^ We have not iucladed in this colleotion effigiated tombstones and coffin lids, of which examples of thirteenth-oeutnrj date may be fonnd at Penally, Upton, nnd Newport, Pembrokeshire.
* Previous mention : ArcJi, Camb., 4th Ser., xii, 245; Arch. Camh.^ 5th Ser., x, 243 and 249 ; Old Pembroke FamtlieSy H. Owen, p. 46.
^ Fen ton's Pembrokeshire, p. 428.
MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES, PBMBROKBSHXRE 379
of the slab, with feet, &c., have disappeared, but enough is left to exhibit several interesting features.
The head rests upon two cushions, the outer oblong, reaching to just below the shoulders ; the other a plump pillow, whose two ends verge to a tassel-like point, is imraediately under the head. Although not complete, the figure is over 6 ft. long; the shield measures 2 ft. 4 ins. in length, while the sword, which is partly broken away, has been a long one.
Like several other stone eflfigies in Pembrokeshire (that at Carew, for instance), this warrior is shown resting on his left shoulder with his face toward the south : his hands both hold the sword, which he is in the act of drawing ; his legs are crossed above the knee.
A tightly-fitting coifde mailles, or hood of ring armour, covers the head:^ this garment was in use from the time of John, 1199, to. that of Edward III, 1327; it was worn with or without a helmet. Round this hood of mail runs a narrow strap, most likely for the pur- pose of fastening the coif,* which was all in one piece with the camail or tippet of mail. We are inclined to think this warrior wears his camail over the upper part of the surcoat, which would account for the sudden dis- appearance of the shield strap or guige when it reaches the mail tippet. H. W. Lonsdale, in Lonsdale and Tar- ver's MediCBval Costume, p. 6, says : " The tunic and hood of mail are (about 1275) no longer made in one piece, but the latter descends to the shoulders, covering the upper part of the surcoat " — he also gives illustra- tions of this on Plate 10.
Our Q^gy wears the gambaison^ or tunic of quilted
* Fairholt's Costume in England, :p, 159, with engraving of head of knight from the Temple Church.
* Me J pick's AntUnt Armour, i, 87 ; Lonsdale and Tarver's Mediceval Costume, plate 9, fig. 74a ; Catt's Sepulchral Slabs, plate Ixviii.
3 Mejrick's Antient Armour, i, 89 ; Lonsdale and Tarver's MedicBval Costume, introduction, p. 6.
380 MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES, PEMBROKESHIRE
leather under the hauberk, as may be seen by the shaped and moulded sleeves.
The sword has a slightly curving hilt, and an arrange- ment of knotted thongs fasten the scabbard to the sword-belt.
At the knee is a suggestion of garter-like strap.
The long sleeveless surcoat reaches the ankles in ample folds, and is puflfed out at the waist above the encircling plain leather girdle.
The mutilated hands bear a suggestion o^ fingered gauntlets.
Regarding the probable date of this e^gy, Rev. E. L. Barnwell, Arch. Camb., 4th Ser., xii, 245, says it belongs to the thirteenth century, and is one of the oldest in Wales. Fenton, p. 428, attributes it to the founder of Upton, supposed by tradition to have been an admiral and a giant, who died at sea, his body being landed at Cosheston Pill. Dr. Henry Owen in Old Pembroke Families, p. 46, suggests that it represents Walter Malefant, to whom Upton belonged, and who died in 1258.
No. 2. The Effigy attributed to a Wogan in St. Davids Cathedral} — This figure has been moved several times ; when the accompanying drawing was made in 1904, it was in Bishop Vaughan's chapel — it has now been placed on the north side of the chapel of St. Nicholas.
Though very much mutilated, the period can be plainly made out. Head, arms, legs, and shield are much damaged, and it is said that the chin was carried as far as the church door by a relic-hunting visitor who was there reluctantly obliged to restore it.
The figure is hewn from local plum-coloured stone ; it is cushioned on two pillows of an uncompromising
^ Previous mention: Arch. (7am6.,4th Ser., v, 292, M. H. Bloxam; Arch Camh., M\ Ser., xv, 22.'>, Dean of Llandaff, Browne Willis ; Survey of St DavicTsy p. 18 ; Jones and Freeman's History of St, David'Sf p. 120; Old Pembroke Families, Henrj Owen, p. 41; Fenton's Pembrokeshire, p. 88.
382
MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES,
character, flat and thin ; the lower holster is oblong, and does not reach as far as the shoulders; the upper, a rhom- boid, is placed diagonally immediately beneath the head. Like the effigy at Upton previously described, this figure draws his sword with the right hand, while the fingers of the left appear from beneath his shield and rest on the scabbard; his legs are crossed below the knee, the feet rest on a lion.
The slab measures about 6 ft, the sword 2 ft. 9 ins. from hilt to base of sheath ; the mutilated shield is 2 ft. 5 ins. long.
A coif de mailles envelopes the head, which is inclined to squareness^ at the top, a feature first
Effigy No. 2.— Pryck-Spur
noticeable in the reign of King John ; the camail is worn over the upper part of the surcoat, as in the figure at [Jpton,the shield-strap or guige being covered by it on the right shoulder ; the arms and legs are so abraded that it is only possible to state that they were mail clad ; in consequence of surface shaling, the right arm presents a curiously distorted appearance suggestive of a double elbow; the hands were probably protected hy fingered mail^ not mits, fingers still being traceable ; the sleeveless surcoat is long and rather cumbrous-looking — puffed out at the waist over a strap, it hangs down behind the figure to half-way down the calf ; the legs and feet are encased in chausses and hose of mail ; the pryck-spur is that of the time of John, being " fastened by a single leather which passes through an
^ Mejrick, Antient Armour^ i, 87.
PBHBEtOKESHIBE 3S3
aperture at the end of each shank and buckles on the top of the instep. Those on the raoaument of King John himself in Worcester Cathedral are made in the same manner."" William Longesp^e, who died in 1224, has the improved spur with a sole-strap attached.* The long sword has a slightly curved hilt. The lion sustaining the feet lies over on one side, his shabby little tail well in view.
This effigy has been attributed by tradition to a member of the Wogan family. A. Sir John Wogan and Bishop Martin founded a chantry for three priests
Ko. 3. — Side view of Effigy of a Moiled Figure at Lawretiny
in the chapel of St. Nicholas in 1302 ;' he was justiciary of Ireland, " died about 1319, and is said (without authority) to have been buried at St. David's."*
No. 3. Effigy of a Mailed Figure al Lavrrenny.^ — This battered figure of a mailed man is now under a broken perforated arch of the Decorated Gothic
' Meyrick, AntieTil Armour, vol. i, p. 88. 2 Ibid., vol. i, p. 91. » Arch. 0-imb., Stli Sar., xv, 225. * Old Pembroke Familiet, Heury Owen, p. 41. ^ Pievions mentiun : Arek. Camb., 5tb Ser., v, 137, aod x, 248. Fenton does not allnde to it.
384
MOKUHBNTAL BPFIOIES,
period, having been placed there by Miss Jessie Allen about 1890. The e&gj has been exposed to the open air, and was coated with whitewash ; it has since been
No. 3.— Effigy of a MaiW Fiijure at Lawrciiuy
cleaned, but unfortunately more than whitewash dis- appeared in the scraping process, for the only traces of mail which now remain aie under the arm and nape of neck ; the legs have entirely disappeared. All that
mifBROltBSHlKlfi: S85
exists of the figure is well modelled in high relief. The slab which holds the effigy has possessed a con- siderable bevel : the head rests on two cushions, the lower, oblong, reaching to the shoulders, the upper, placed diagonally immediately under the head ; both cushions are hollowed and plump in appearance. The fragment measures 4 ft. in length, the shield is 2 ft. 4 ins., and the dagger 1 ft. 2 ins. long.
The head is covered with a flat-topped coif de mailleSy the chain links of which are faintly visible at the nape of the neck : mere indications of features remain on the face. A long sleeveless surcoat with full skirt and deep folds is worn, girded at the waist with a plain strap, buckled in front; the shield-strap or guige passes aver the right shoulder, while depending from the waistbelt a third strap carries tte dagger <yr anlace, and serves to kilt the surcoat when required ; the gamhaison or under tunic is evidently worn beneath the hauberk, which under the arm presents a very ridged appearance ; the hands are covered with mail undivided into jmgers} The right hand rests upon the shield, the left peeps from beneath it and clasps the dagger below the pommel. According to Meyrick, mention of the dagger occurs as early as the time of Kichard Coeur-de-Lion — it was limited to one palm's length at the Council of Pisa. Kichard Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke, was stabbed in Ireland with an anlace in 1234.^
It has been conjectured that this effigy represents one of the Percivals of Coedcamlas.
No. 4. Fragment in St. David's Cattiedral against the North Wall of the South Aisle outside Bishop Vaughan's Cha/peV — This head and torso of a mailed effigy is of local plum-coloured stone. It has been
^ Meyrick, Antient Armour, i, 90. * Ibid,, i, 139.
^ Arch. Camb., 3rd Ser., Ti, 86 ; Clark's Earls, Earldom, and Castle of Pembroke.
* PrevioQs mention : Browne Willis, Survey of St David^s. No. 28 on the Icbnograpby. Styled a " defaced monament.''
0TH SBB., VOL. VUI. 27
2
S86 MONUMENTAL EFFIGIBS, PSMBROKBSHIRE
built up on a low wall, with a buttress close against it. There are two cushions, the under one a broad oblong, the upper irregularly square, placed diagonally, and shaped to the head at the back. There is a tightly- fitting rounded coif de inailles and camaU : the heater- shaped shield is 2 ft. long by 1 ft. wide : the arm» which was once riveted on, is gone : the figure had fingered gloves^ and was drawing his sword, the guard of which turns upward abruptly at right angles : part of the ring mail under the head is very sharply cut in strong relief. Face and legs no longer exist.
The date may be a little earlier than No. 2.
No. 5. A Fragment at Nolton, now placed upi^ht in a niche in the porch} — This figure of soft sandstone is worn almost smooth. Mrs. T. Allen in her list of S. Wales EflBgies* states that he was (in 1893) white- washed, he hsis since been cleaned : he has had two cushions, the lower a broad oblong, the upper with rounded corners, shaped to the head behind, and placed diagonally : a coif de mailles, tightly fitting the spherical head, -and a camail were worn ; traces of the gidge may be made out passing under the latter : the shield was about 2 ft. long, and the attitude of the figure suggests that he was drawing his sword. The fragment is cut off a little below the shield.
This torso may possibly be one of the two Thomas de la Roche's mentioned on p. 71 of Old Pembroke Families, by Henry Owen. They lived circa 1274- 1301.
No. 6. A fragment of Torso at Monkton Church, Pembroke. — The only remaining feature is a long sur- coat and plain belt.
^ Previous mention : Arch. Camh.^ 6th Ser., x, 249. 2 Arch, Camb.y 5tli Ser., x, 249.
387
BERW
By the kind courtesy of Lady Reade we are enabled to give some illustrations of the old buildings connected with Berw, the house of the Hollands, copied from the pen and ink etchings, with a description, in a manuscript history of Berw, preserved at Carreglwyd.
The Mjll Tower
"Near Berw Ychaf there stands an ancient tower, still known by the name of "Tyddyn Hicke," as in 1503. The farmers say that it was a mill tower, the head of which was destroyed as soon as finished, being blown off by a strong wind from the Marsh. It stands on a commanding brow, visible in all directions for a considerable distance. The masonry is massive, but common ; solid, strong, and geometrically good ; but presenting no remarkable feature.
** For a mill tower, this has a very unusual slit, or gap, the whole height of its northern side. This opening faces directly up the Marsh, to Llangefni. It is not the result of decay or accident, but by the careful finish of its edges can positively be declared part and parcel of the original design.
" The tower has traces of two floors above the ground. Midway between them, on the wall of the middle chamber, are two niches or recesses in the stone wall, exactly opposite to the lateral opening. They are carefully squared, and about a foot in height, being so constructed that the round chamber might receive a large square frame, the two rearmost angles of which these recesses would receive. The front part of any such frame would then be towards the opening in the wall, facing to Llangefni and the north. We fail to perceive in this structure any indications of its ever
27 •
having been a mill, and at the same time must confess our inability to construct any theory of Its probable intention or use. It is old, and may have been erected by the expectant Elinor.* Had she possessed a helpinfif sister Ann, here she might appropriately have been posted to look out for the advent of the expected lord. But, unfortunately, she could only detect his approach in one direction, for no opening exists except the one
described and a ruinous breech like a doorway at the foot of the tower.
" It is a long, five- windowed house, strongly resembling the plainer edifices made in James' reign. The windows
' This ladj was "Elinor Veroh Ithel of Berw," whom John Holland married " somenrhere about 1500." " There is to this da; a tradition at Berw that the heiress onoe had to wait so long for a husband that she bnilt a tower and a obnrcb hefore he oam« to her. This mnst have referred to Elinor, fur there has been no other heiress to whom it woald apply "
are large, ma)lioned in stone, of six ample lights, the lower row being the larger. The doorway is low and broad, and over it is the beautiful specimen of heraldic sculpture which has been mentioned. This front looks into a small square garden, walled in on the south by the old ruins; on the north by an embattled wall containing the entrance gate, with steps down into the inclosure. Opposite the nouse, a low hedge separates the garden from a fine deer park, now a sheep walk. At the back of the house rises a square tower, conically
Plu Berv, from a sketch in 1861
roofed. Inside is little of architectural interest. Damp are the rooms, and mouldy is the floor. In the beat parlour is a heap of grain. The kitchens are empty; the tower contains nothing livelier than the bats and owls which from that stronghold range over weedy moonlit Malltraeth.
" In the hall are the initials 0. H., as if Thomas [Holland] had left some inside work to be finished by his successors, being himself too much occupied to attend to it. . . . He commanded the Militia or Trained Band of the Hundred of Tindaethwy, including Beaumaris. The force had, it would seem, fallen behind- hand in its preparations for duty.
Berw Cbafbl
" Berw luy in the pariah of Llanidan. It was sonie miles at least from the parish church. Nearer to it was the the chapel of Llanddeiniol Vab, subservient to Llanidan. But Berw was not in that chapelrj ; and in those days men were bound by law to attend service and to communicate within their parish. One Lewis
Bemr ChapsI nt LlADfihangel Eskeiviog
Williams, A.M., was Vicar of Llanidan, and between him and his great parishioner Sir Thomas was much ill-will. The knight objected to go to Llanidan to church. The parson refused to come as far out of his way as Berw, Some cause or other they found for legal proceedings. A fragment of a copy [of] judgment is preserved, by which Lewis Williams is ordered to give more services at Llanddeiniol, as of right accus- tomed. Perhaps that was in consequence of Sir Thomas' process against him. One charge against the Vicar was that he employed unqualified persons as curates.
BBRW 891
Rowland Williams, of Pentraeth, a poor hedge priest and schoolmaster, who had never, it would seem, been ordained at all, was seized in 1634 and carried before Sir Thomas Holland and the Bishop of Bangor (Dr. Dolben) at the latter s Palace. He was * in priestly- apparel,' but confessed he was only a deacon, and received a reprimand from the Bishop — what for does not appear. He was afterwards seen * standing upon the market crosse at Bangor, with a paper uppon his breast and shoulders,' and when asked * wherefore he stood there, replied that it was for servinge under Mr. Williams of Llanedan.'
" The parish clerk of that place, and sexton, Richard ap William ap Evan, * a tenant unto Justice Pryddergh (of Myfyrion), able to pay every man his owne and hath to spare' ; by his own account * who payd vi** towards the shippinge last year,' meaning, of course, the tax which brought out Hampden. This respectable man gave evidence in 1637 that *the custome of the inhabitants of Berow in the time of Mr. Price, late Vicar of Llanedan' (Jasper Price, of Bodowyr, who died in 1626), 'and in the beginning of the incumbencie of Mr. Lewis Williams was, that notice was given in the church of Llanedan to the inhabitants of the Townshippe of Berowe aforesaid that they that were impotent and aged should prepare themselves to receave the com- munion at theire own houses upon the Thursday in the Passion Week, and uppon that day soe many of the Inhabitants as intended to receave the communion mett in a longe house in the said Townshippe — wheather it were a barn or noe, this deponent knoweth not ; and there the Minister of Llanedan mett them and ad- ministered the Communion unto them : so thtit they came not to their parish church.'
" Mr. Lewis Williams, after a year or two of this practice, refused to come any more to Berw unless summoned to the sick. By way of ascertaining whether the Vicar or his Curate were wanted at Berw in Passion Week, 1635, the sexton * enquired of some
392 BBBW
of the servanta of Sir Thomas Holland of Berow, whether there were any sick in the Townehippe ; and the said servants said, they knew of none.'
"The sexton afterwards makes mentfon of a person at Berw, who, dying there, was buried at Llan6nangel (B^keiviug). In the oldest Register at Llanidan is a full account of the services accustomed in the different churches or chapels within the charge. Berw is never mentioned in it.
LUuidan OM Church, ISei
" It is obvious that it would even now, when roads are
Sretty good, be a laborious matter to bury a person ying at Berw, at Llanidan, and that Llanfihangel Church, lying within a mile, was a far more convenient place for the purpose. That he and his family might attend service there without incommoding the parish- ioners, Sir Thomas Holland obtained several grants authorizing him to build a chapel to the existing building. The issue of these grants was unsuccess- fully opposed by the Bagenals.
" We do not know the date of the erection of this
BBRW 393
church. It may be very old. Tt may have been the one said to have been built by the heiress of Berw. Over the Gothic doorway is an almost illegible inscrip- tion, of which but a couple of letters can be now made out. In the wall at the east end is built a square stone covered with utterly undecipherable characters. Above the east window are letters, either i.h.s or i.E.s, and a date 1598. The place is in ruins, the parishioners having a new church, in a more convenient place.
** The principal -object in the quiet old churchyard is the Berw Chapel. It now forms at least one-naif of what is now left standing there. Over the gable end is an oblong stone, having letters curiously raised upon its surface, to this e£Fect :
T. H. MILBS POSSIDBT HA NO OAPELLAM
LAUS DEO
v. T. FEB 163...
This legend may mean, either that Sir Thomas Holland, Knight, was the owner of the chapel at the date speci- fied, and of which one figure is gone ; or, that he then took possession of it and placed this stone to assert the act and the power to do so. Whatever it means, it is sufficiently clear that the inscribed stone was placed where it now is, when the wall containing it was built, for it could not have been afterwards in- serted there. The conclusion is that Sir Thomas Holland not merely possessed this chapel, but built it. Had he written posuit, of course no other meaning would have been suspected. As it is, possidet may be a mistake."
In a settlement made February 13th, 1642, Sir Thomas Holland mentions 'Hhe chappell latelie built by him," which seems a sufficient proof of the meaninj of the inscription. He also refers to certain seats an< burying-places of his there.
394 BBBW
We add to the account of Berw and its chapel, which, as mentioned above, is bakeu from the Manu- script History of Berw, preserved at Carreglwyd, an illustration of the old foot at Sir Thomas Holland's parish church, Llanidan. This font in 1846, according to Mr. Longueville Jones, stood opposite the south doorway, in the south aisle, and he describes it as "a
Funt, Llanidan Church
singularly beautiful specimen of the end of the twelfth or thirteenth century, . . . not so good either in design or in execution as that at Llangeinwen, though similar in feeling, but a highly valuable specimen of medieval taste." Since that time, the font has had some unkind treatment, more from thoughtlesaness and negligence than through wilfulness. In 1860 it was lying in a dark corner, dismounted from its pedestal and liable to rough treatment. It has since been removed to the new church and placed on a modern pedestal.
395
Ee\»eU)S! anH Notices! of Boofcs.
A History of Kidwbllt. By Rev. D. Daven Jones, B.A. With IllQstrafcions. Pp. 190. 3s. 6d. net. Garmartlien : W. Sparrell and Son.
The tfhcient town and borough of Kidwelly is fortunate in having for its historian so painstaking and caref nl a compiler as the present Vicar. He has given considerable time, as is abundantly evident, to the examination of manuscripts and records in the Record Office and the British Museum, as well as those to be found nearer home, and he has, very wisely, refused to be content with matter at second hand. It is a good rule which is being enforced by the able Editors of the series of Victoria County Histories, that while ^' short extracts from printed or MS. accounts of the village or parish from the six- teenth or seventeenth century sources may be given, the old local historians should not be treated as original authorities for periods anterior to those in which they lived." In this respect, Mr. Daven Jones is highly to be commended.
He commences with a thoughtful chapter on the etymology of the name Kidwelly, rightly describing Leland's suggestions as " atrocious," that it is from '* Cattilectus, because Cattas once used there to make his bed in an oak.*' He is not so sound when he characterises as *' plausible*' the popular theory that the meaning is ** the confluence of streams ** from Cyd, wy (water), and li = lli (stream). He hesitates to accept the explanation given in Dr. Henry Owen's Edition of George Owen*8 Description of Pembrokeshire ^ that the name is a tribal one formed from the personal name Cadwal, and propounds one, not so satis&ctory, that Kidwelly stands for the "junction of the Gwelis," Gwely being an old name for the Gwen- draeth, of which there are two.
In the chapter on its Ancient History, the writer mentions the place-names T Maenllwyd Mawr (a huge barrow awaiting explora- tion), and Allt Cunedda, Llangadog (a farm), and Waungadog, and discusses the question of the erection of an earlier castle than the noble Norman structure which, with the fine church, is the pride of Kidwelly. Mr. Jones quotes fully from Professor Freeman and Mr. G. T. Clark, whose papers appeared in Arch. Camb,^ adding some interesting details from the Ministers^ Accounts^ in the Record Office.
From the same source, he supplies useful extracts dealing with the Manorial property under the Duchy of Lancaster, 1340 and 1369.
1 He wrongly quotes these accounts, pp. 26, 27, 40, etc., as Minister's Account ^ iustead of by the well-known official designation.
396 REVIEWS AND NOTIOES OF BOOKS.
The Benedictine Priory at Kidwelly was made a cell to Sherborne Abbey, and by " diligent search" (those who have laboured in this work know how sach dih'gent and patient search is often ver^' scantily rewarded with only/ two or three bits of nsef al material) he has been able to give as the names of eight priors from 1301 to 1587.
Mr. Joned qaot.es at length, with farther notes^ Sir Gilbert Scott's report on the Parish Charch, which he describes as '*one of the most remarkable in Soath Wales," with its nare of extraordinary breadth, and other interesting featnres.
A valaable chapter follows on the Indastries of the Town, show- ing that shipping was carried on at an early date, interfered with in the sixteenth century by the choking np of the harbour by sand- banks, and developed again about 1766; and recording the most recent venture, silica-brick manufacture, which, we are glad to know, is carried on successfully. An Appendix of 60 pages contains a valuable transcription of charters and original documents.
We notice in Appendix H, p. 121, a curious error of the copyist or of (ho printer, 12p. Annunciation, 30 Edward III, and " the 12 day next after the Annunciation," p. 126; Gryffith, a spelling neither English nor Welsh, and S. Davids for S. David's.
A number of illustrations are given, but those of the castle might with advantage have been on a larger scale more worthy of the magnificent building. The old houses of Flemish style with the semi-detached chimney and outside staircase are interesting.
We commend most heartily the Vicar of Kidwelly on his venture in authorship, and echo the remark made in the complimentary Review in Y Gyfaill Egltoysig, recommending other parish priests to follow the excellent example set them, and to put together a care- ful, well-authenticated accopnt of their parish and neighbourhood.
The printing and setting forth of the volume is worthy of the old- established Carmarthen house.
Studies in Irish Epigkapht. Part III. By R. A. Stewart Macalistbr, M. A., F.S.A. London : David Nutt.
Mr. Macalistbr, after an interval of four or more years, has brought out the results of his inspection of the Ogham inscriptions in the Connties of Cork, Tipperary, and Waterford, which include no less than seven or eight new inscriptions which he was fortunate to find in Coanty Cork. In connection with this recent harvest, he makes a remark which may well be noted by our members in Soatli Wales : *' The fact that these were all discovered during three weeks, almost completely occupied in examining stones already known, seems to indicate that a large epigraphic harvest awaits the Cork antiquary who will devote his time to an examination of the rubbing-posts in the fields and the lintel-stones in the rath-caves of his county." He goes on to explain why this is possible, which he bases upon " a singular
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS. 397
pecaliarity that this [Cork] group of Oghams present& This is the persistent use of minate scratchy scores, especiially in legends of late date. . . . The consequence is that, first, a large proportion of the in- scriptions are worn faint, and sometimes are scarcely visible except in certain conditions of lighting ; and, secondly, that in many the fine scores become clogged and almost completely concealed by thick growths of lichen." *^ This pecaliarity," he thinks, " is dne to the invention and local use of some particular tool or technique." On pages 13 and 14 Mr. Macalister alludes to the question which pususles, if it does not distress^ those who are not adepts in decipher- ing these curious inscriptions. His remarks are worth qnoting at length. "The question arises whether we have not here" [the Aghadoe Ogham] " to deal with some kind of artificial jargon, such as appears to have been spoken among the learned in Ireland in ancient times. We recall the oft- quoted passage in the Annals of Cloumacuoise, recording the obit in 1828 a.d. of ' Morish O'Gibellan, master of art, one exceedingly well learned in the ould and new law, siaill (civil) and canon, a cunniDg and skilfull philosopher, an ex- cellent poet in Ii*ish, and excellent^ eloquent and exact speaker of the speech which in Irish is called Off ham,* We also recollect that float- ing scraps of vocabularies exist containing mysterious words derived by artificial processes from the ordinary Irish equivalents. Artificial dialects of the kind can be acquired and used like ordinary languages: as witness Svm^ a distortion of Arabic spoken for secrecy by Egyptian nomads, in which the original words are concealed by prefixes or suffixes ; and Shelta, a tinker dialect, which consists of Old Irish words prououDced backward or otherwise artificially modified. Yolapiik, Esperanta, and other monstrous inyention§| are equally good illustrations of the same principle." Later in the volume, he discusses the origin of the Ogham alphabet, which, as he thinks probable, " arose in a gesture alphabet, like the deaf-mute finger- signs invented by a class of initiates for secret communication among themselves." He mentions the question of forgeries, and the trade in Oghams, the barony of Muskerry being '* the centre for this kind of trade, because it is the richest part of the county in inscriptions of this class, and therefore the attention of the peasants was the more forcibly directed to the profits which possession of such inscriptions was likely to bring." On the other hand, he quotes several instances of superstitious feeling which would serve to protect these ancient monuments from vandalism. He tried to get a cave opened in West Muskerry, but failed. The farmer's wife became hysterical at the idea of doing so, apparently through dread of malignant spirit-s ; the one man, said to know exactly where the cave- mouth was, was under the influence of a more tangible kind of malignant spirits, and in consequence practically useless.
Mr. Macalister has his suggestion about the Caldey Island stone which, besides a partially defaced Ogham inscription, has a Latin one, so much disputed. He cannot follow Sir tf. Rhys in treating the Latin inscription as metrical ; '* certainly not as a hexameter
398 REVIEWS AND NOTICES OJ- BOOICS.
and half pentameter. If it be necessarj to see metrical form at all, I should prefer to consider it a8 a three-line stressed stanza, rhym- ing in ''i,'* which in more ordinary Latin would ran thus :
Ex signo cruciB in ilia fixi [for * hxsa*] Rogo (ab) omDibus ambulantibus ibi Exorent pro anima Gatuoconi.
'* This would explain why the engraver msLdefixi agree with cruets rather than with aignOf and why he wrote ibi when he appears to have meant hie or hue.
*' The signum crucis I suppose to be not the cross cut on the stone itself, but some other cross that conld be indicated or easily seen from the position of the monument."
Besides the Caldey stone, reference is made to nine other inscribdd stones in Wales, as bearing more or less upon similar inscriptions in Ireland, those at Cilgerran, Olydai, Crickhowel, Gwytherin, Llandeilo, Llanfechan, Llanfihangel (Ulcagni), Llansaint, and Lly- well (now in the British Musenm).
This volume, which has much of interest and instruction for the general reader and is admirably arranged and got up, contains numerous illustrations of excellent quality, and the four indexes, and comparative table of readings by various copyists, are most helpful.
Proceedings of the Societit of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Vol. V. Fourth Series.
This volume of proceedings contains amongst other papers of great interest two articles which deserve special notice as most compre- hensive in their treatment of the several subjects, and supplemented with a most useful and instructive series of illustrations. The first in order is the paper entitled " The Relative Chronology of Some Cinerary Urn Types of Great Britain and Ireland,*' by the Hon. John Aberoromby, F.S.A. Scot.
The writer classifies these cinerary urns under five types. Of three only of these are examples, so far, found iti Wales. Type i, the Overhanging Rim type ; Type iv, the Gordon type ; Type v, the Encrusted type.
Of the first-named type, urns occur in Anglesea (Cae Mickney), Carnarvon, Denbigh, Radnor, and Glamorgan. These urns con- sist at first of three members — a rim, a neck, and a body. The rim at first was narrow, but in process of the development became broader and deeper. In later stages the second of the three members — the neck — disappeared, and became part and parcel of the body. Mr. Abercromby mentions, as instances from Wales, the am from Mynydd Carn Goch, Glamorgan, and the Bronwen urn ; also two urns at Penmaenmawr, found with an urn of Type iv.
The Cordon or Hooped type (iv) appear as developments of Type i, the Inralls of the rim being made thinner in coarse of time, and the
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 399
lower edge pinched up into a sort of rudimentarj monlding, which, by degrees, definitely assumed the form of a cordon or raised hoop, the shoulder angle being likewise replaced by another cordon. The writer mentions as a finely-ornamented example the urn found at Col Winston in Glamorgan. This type is stated to have lasted to a very late period, to the very end of the Bronze Age, and occurs in North and South Wales.
The fifth type — the Encrusted — is " characterised not so much by its profile as by its encrusted decoration. This generally takes the form of a chevron border, between the angles of which is placed a circular boss." One of the finesfc specimens, decorated below the lip with a chevron border, and below that with a lozenge border in relief, came from the Presely mountains in Pembrokeshire.
The other article to which attention is called describes Communion Tokens of the Established Church of Scotland in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, by Alexander J. S. Brook, F.S.A. Scot We have in Wales no record of such a custom of tokens, though the antiquity and wide-spread use of such tokens are unquestionable, and they are not necessarily a post-Beformation institution, though they were introduced in the Reformed Church in France in 1560 at the suggestion of Calvin. Cardinal Pole is said to have employed them in Queen Mary's time, and the token books of St. Saviour's, South wark, show that they were in use in 1559. An entry in the churchwardens' book of Newbury parish, in Berkshire, records 300 tokens being purchased in 1658, and in the parish records of Henley-on-Thames they are mentioned as " Communion half-pence." It is possible that *^ the serage silver" of Macclesfield and other Cheshire parishes may have the same origin. It would be of interest to find out whether there may not have been such a custom in Wales.
These tokens were, however, more closely identified with Scotland than with any other country. Without the production of a token no one was admitted to the Lord's Supper, and it was meant to distin- guish not only the worthy from the unworthy and one parish from another by a special device, but when the metallic tokens, mostly of lead or of lead mixed with tin, were stamped with numbers and the written tokens bore the member's name, they distinguished one communicant from another.
The variety of tokens is very great, difference being made in the form of the tokens themselves and of the letters on them. The devices were various. Amongst them was the heart, signifying Christ's love for sinners ; the burning bush, a burning lamp, the vine, lily, sun, fish, and the Communion cup. The article, which is of remarkable interest, has no less than 1,200 illustrations of these tokens.
400
Src|)aeologtcal Botta anH Queries.
The only Dukb of Ibeland. — Some light has been thrown on the circa instances attending the banishment of Robert de Vere, ninth Earl of Oxford, and first and last Dake of Ireland, one of the favourites of Richard II, by the peiiisal of the *^ computas"^ of the receiver of the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale (in the northern Marches of Wales) from Michaelmas, 1388, to Michaelmas, 1389.
In that whole year, so contained, the receiver renders account of eztensive repairs made to Holt Castle, in thb said Lordship; of money paid to David de Eyton, constable of the castle, watching for six weeks, of arrows, arrow-heads, and a " balista" bought ; and of expenses incurred on the boat at Bangor' [Isyooed], and strengthen- ing it with a chain, *^ at the time of the commotion of the Duke of Ireland in the March,"' "certifying, moreover, the Lord of the approach and coining of tlie Duke of Ireland at the time of the commotion.'*^ Three sliillings and foarpence were paid to John Decka for going to Chester with a sealed private letter touching the Constable of Lyons [Holt] Castle and tenants of the lord, nnd six shillings and oightpence for " fixing a patent of appeal of the Duke of Ireland and his friends on the door of St. Peter's [Church], Chester."^ Two pence were also paid Jankyn Sherard tor carrying a letter of the Lord Earl [of Arundel] to Sir William Eye in Cheshire, and three shillings to Eynio[n] Gongh for going with four other letters of the lord, probably on the same occasion. The repair of the manor house of Hem and of the lodge in Marsley Park are also mentioned. The Lord of Bromfield and Yale at this time was Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, afterwards executed in 1397, who had been one of Robert do Yere's stoutest opponents. It seems to me that this Robert, Duke of Ireland, passed through Bromfield on his way from Radcot Bridge to the country from which he took his title. But guesses are daugerous, and it is sufficient to call attention to the quoted entries in the account of the Receiver of Bromfield and Y&le at " the time of the commotion."
Alfred Neobard Palmer.
^ Miniftiera' Accounts, -r-, Record Office.
^ The boat at " Ruthalth" [Rhuddallt in Ruabon] was also then provided with a chain.
' Tempore commoconis ducis hiberaie in marchia.
* Solut' Rogero Qlou' eunti versus dominum per ordinaconem oonsilii dotnini mense Decembri ad certificandum dominum de propoeito et adventu ducis hibemie tempore commoconis.
' Et statuendo patent* de appell' ducis hibemie et sociorum suorum super ostium Eoclesie Sancti Petri Gestrie.
ARCH^OLOQICAL NOTES AND QUERFES
401
CornN PouNi> IN Banoob Gath^dkal — Althoagti hidden from new, it was trell known that a mnral tomb eziated behind the etalis in the weatern portion of the aootli wall of the olianoel. Daring the alterationa, which are at preaent being OHrried ont in connection with the atalla, the tomb has bee[i exposed. The accompanying illasti^tion will show the arched opening between the chancel and the bnilding which formerly existed to the soath. The chatuoter of
ClevNVion
|>l»n
Erection
Uomb in ilouth oaaU e( Choir in
<l4««0*-|U,.
tbe workmanship is that of the foarteecth century. It was not known that the co£n still remained in eitu. The covering slab has disappeared, and the stone coffin is empty. Apparently it contained a man of fair stature. The intoraal length is 6 ft. 4 ins. The recess for the head is raised 3 ins. above tbe bottom of the coffin. It wonid appear that, after it was made, the coffin was found in- sufficiently wide to receive the body. The sides have been ronghly hacked away to inoreaee the internal width to 1 ft. 11^ ins. across the apper part.
9th sbb., vol. Till. a
402
AROHiBOLOGIOAL NOTES AND <)UERISS
Browne Willis informs us that Bishop Anian Sais, who died in 1327, was bnried in a certain wall between the ohoir and altar. It is supposed that this tomb occupied the position of the modern organ-chamber arch on the north side of the choir.
Sir Gilbert Scott informs ns that he learns "that in 1365 (or 1367) Tndor ap Grono ap Tndor was bnried in the wall on the right (or south) side of the choir.*' I do not know Sir Gilbert's authority for this statement.
Harold Hughbs.
Font, Llanfair tn t Owmwd, Anqlesbt. — On the occasion of onr visit to Llanfair jn j Owmwd Ohnrch, at the Llangefni Meeting,
Font, Llanfair yn y Cwmwd Church
1907, we were unfortunately unable to get inside the church, and could only peep through the keyhole, or through the little window. The special feature of the church is the font, which in Arch, Camb., 1846, is described as " one of the most remarkable in the collection of Anglesey monuments, a rude reproduction of the twelfth century.
arohjBolooical notes and queries
403
ornamented mth misahapen beads, oroases, and a aerpent>kind of fignre at either end." It is made ont of a single block of fine grit- stone, and, nnlike most of the fonts in Anglesey, is oblong vrith ronnded corners. The two illnstrations here given are from drawings made bj Mr. Worthington Smith from photographs apeoially taken for Atvk. Garni. There are traces in the rim of an arrangement for locking np the font. The pedestal of the font ia, of coarse, modem.
Foot, LlnnFair ;□ 7 Cwmwd Cburch
Palsolithic Stons Axb-hbad ahd othbr Stohe Ikplbmbnts rODND HB4R BeDDaBLEST. — Mr. Griffith Williams, of Plaa Culmjn, BeddgeJert, has ia his posseseion a remarkably fine specimen of the olasB of rnde stone implement connected ivith the early Stone Age. The accompanying iilnstration gives a very good idea of its general aspect and shape. It was recently discovered by Mr. Williams in Owm TrwagI, situate on the north-west slope of Moel Hebog, at an altitnde of abont 1,600 ft. above sea-lerel. It measures 12 ins. io length, 4 ins. in breadth, and 4 ins. in height.
404 ARCH^OLOQIOAL NOTES AND QUERIES
Eocircliiig the implement, exttctly in tbs cnntre, is a depresaion or groore, bearing evidenoe bj clear); defined scored lines of the method employed to Mcare it to ito wooden handle by means of a withy or thongs of twisted hide. The implement weighs no leas than 15 Iba., and its composition is that of the olose-gmined, hard grey granite found plentifally in the district.
About H year ago Mr. Williams also secared a very perfect stone hammer-head, fonnd on the western slopes of Snowdon. This implement is also grooved in the centre, and has rounded ends of the drum-stick type. In length it measures about 5 ins.
During the present summer a gentleman, whilst engaged in otter-
Stone Axe-hsod found near Beddgelert
banting, picked np a spindle-whorl from amongst the pebbles of a stream above Llyn Owynant, close to the site of the Cyttiau Gwyddelod visited by the members oF the Association during the Portmadoc Meeting of lt)03.
Cbaklbs E. Bbebse.
RoHAH Coin Fodhd NSib Poktuadoc.— In Angnst last Hr. Llewelyn Dedwydd, of Borthygeat, near Portmadoc, disoovered on the shore of the Glaalyn estuary, about a mile below Borthygest, a coin fixed firmly in the fissure of a rock. Daring recent years the oouree of the river channel has become diverted to such an extent as to espose rooks to view which had hitherto been completely embedded in sand. It was on one of suoh rocks tliat Mr, Dedwydd discovered
AKGH^OtOGtCAL NOTES AND QUERIES 405
his coin, which he has since submitted for identification to the authorities of the British Mnseum.
The coin has been pronounced to be one of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, struck at Alexandria, circa a.d. 138-61. It is of silver, and stamped with the Greek letter *^ B," attesting the interesting fact that the colonial origin of the coinage struck there was thus com- memorated.
The laureated and boarded head of the Emperor appears in profile on both faces, but the inscription is in part rendered illegible owing to the accretion of iron on that portion of the coin which had adhered to the rock. The size of the coin is superficially a shade less than that of our English shilling-piece, and about four times its thickness. Ghables E. Bbeese.
Hospital of St. Maby the Virgin in Ardudwt, Mebionethshibb. — The very interesting contribution by the Venerable Archdeacon Thomas, F.S.A., in the last issue of this Journal (p. 288) of an entry in '* Papal Letters" respecting a licence granted to Grnffht ap Llewelin ap Kynure and his heirs to have masses, etc., celebrated in the Oratory of the poor Hospital of St. Mary the Virgin in the Diocese of Bangor, is deserving of something more than passing notice.
The person referred to is clearly Grifiith ap Llewelin ap Eenric, ancestor to the Vaughans of Corsygedol. He was great-grandson to Osborii, called in the Welsh pedigrees " Osber Wyddel " (Osborn the Irishman), a cadet of the great house of Geraldines of Desmond. This Osborn settled in Merionethshire aboat the middle of the thirteenth century, and was assessed in the parish of Llanaber towards the tax of a fifteenth levied in Wales in 1293. Osbom's son Eenric had Gorsygedol as his portion of his father's inheritance, and Kenric left the same to his son Llewelin, the father of Griffith {Peniarth MS,, No. 6).
Griffith ap Llewelin ap Kenric is described in the pedigrees as "of Corsygedol." He was Farmer of the office of Sheriff of Merioneth in 46 Edward III, 1372, and in a Boll of Ministers' Accounts for the year ending at Michaelmas, 1392, he is referred to as " modo Vicecomes." He died about the year 1399. Griffith's wife Eva, daughter of Madoc ap Ellis of Cryniarth in Edernion, was a sister of Leoline ap Madoc ap Ellis, Dean of St Asaph, 1339 to 1357, and Bishop of that See from 1357 to 1375.
The interest attaching to the entry lies mainly in the record of the founding and building by Griffith of a hospital in a place *' difficult of access," situate between Traeth Urtro (Traeth Artro, Llanbedr)t and Abermo (Barmouth). It is well-nigh impossible to identify the site of this hospital, as there exist no available authentic records — other than that under consideration — in which mention is made of any such establishment.
The entry locates the hospital between the estuary of the Artro
406 ARCH^OLOGICAL NOTES AND QUERIES
and Barmouth, a distance of only eight miles apart, and still farther limits the scope of inquiry by the statement of its " being difficalt of access." Notwithstanding these facts, and the comparatively late medi8B7aI date of its foundation, I know of no tradition associating such a building with the locality.
An important point to note in the entry is the omission of any reference to the hospital being situate in proximity to a then existing building. It is not unreasonable to assume, when the description of the locality is otherwise given with such accuracy, that had the hospital been built near to a church or habitation, the fact would have been so recorded, and silence in this respect tends to the conclusion that not only was the site "difficult of access," but also that it was isolated.
The churches of Llanbedr (St. Peter) and Llanaber (St. Mary), as well as Gwern*y-Capel, situate near Ystumgwern, were probably all in existence prior to 1391, and if the hospital was placed near to any of them, it is more than probable that the circumstance would have been noted in the entry.
It is doubtful whether the churches of Llanenddwyn (St. Damian), Llauddwye (Holy Cross), and Egryn Abbey, were built previously to 1400; but if they were, the same probability as is referred to in the preceding chapter would apply.
Not one, however, of the edifices mentioned above is situate in a place " difficult of access."
The old building near Llanbedr, with which my article in the last number of this Journal dealt, is situate immediately at the head of the Traeth Artro, and does not therefore conform strictly to the position indicated by the entry, though its dimensions and ground plan, as also its position of inaccessibility and isolation, and the character of its masonry being in agreement with that of the period of the erection of Griffith's Hospital, are favourable factors in support of its possible identification as the site of the latter foundation.
There remains the possibility of the hospital having been erected by its founder contiguous to his place of residence. There is reason to believe (vide Arch. Camb., 1868, Report of Portmadoc Meeting of Association) that buildings occupied the site of the present mansion of Coi*sygedoI before its erection in the latter portion of the sixteenth century, whilst the vestiges of a far older habitation near Berllys — so named after ** Osber Wyddel " — lying adjacent to Corsygedol, are traditionally assigned as the site of the early residence of the CorHygedol family. The objection to the view that the hospital was built near the founder's residence is again emphasised by the omission of so natural a reference in the entry ; but apart from this, the presumption is rendered less forceful by reason of the absence of any tradition associating any building in the nature of a hospital, oratory, or domestic chapel with the sites of these residences.
Charles E. Bbebss.
AtLCnMOhOGtCAL NOtBS AND QtlBRIES 407
»
Caerwbnt, 1908. — The work at Caerwent has so far, this year, been confined to the ground lying to the east of the fomm. It has, unfortunately, been impossible to complete the excayation of the west side of the forum or of the western end of the basilica, but it is hoped to do this next year. On the north side of the main road there have been uncovered a series of houses, probably four in number, though the mutual relation of two of these houses is not quite clear. One of these houses has a small courtyard, the others have neither corridor nor court, and their ground plan is a little unusual. In one of them were found over 1000 small brass coins, nnd the so-called " Samian" ware has been found associated with these houses in much greater profusion than has been known in previous years.
To the west of these houses, and also fronting the main road, there has been found a very interesting building which is, with hardly any doubt, to be identified as a small temple. It consists of a small square cella^ with an apse on its north side. This cdla is surrounded by a buttressed wall, which may possibly be that of a podium. The front of the temple and the forecourt are being excavated at the present time. To the north of this temple is a court with a very fine porch or entrance, and on the east of this court a house, part of which was excavated last year.
A well and several rubbish pits have been cleared out. One of the pits yielded a small sitting image, presumably of a goddess, but it is so rudely carved that it is difficult to say precisely what is represented. It is cut out of a small block of sandstone, and in style and execution is like the stone head found in the " shrine" several years ago.
DiscovtiKY OF AN Ancibnt Silver CoiN. — While looking for mould for his flower-pots the other day a Carnarvon man found a relic of the Roman occupation. It was a silver coin about the size of a six- penny piece bearing the portrait of Titus Flavins Vespasian. It is in a wonderful state of preservation. A description of the coin was sent to the Keeper of Coins, British Museum, and ho replied as follows : — " The coin of which you sent particulars is probably of Constantino II, .and was struck circa a.d. 340."
Stone Axes Found Near Cowbridgb. — It may perhaps be worth while recording the discovery in the neighbourhood of Cowbridge of two Gne polished stone axes^ which have come into my possession. One was dug up close to the town when the railway was made to Aberkarn in 1891, and is of a coarse-grained material, with a beautifully sharp cutting edge, looking as if it had only just come fmm the maker's hands. The other, the larger of the two, being 8^ ins. long, was found quite recently in the bed of the stream that flows down Pant Wilkin. It is of a fine-grained stone, and of a peculiar shape. I cannot find any illustration in Sir John Evans' book that it quite resembles. Oiie native who saw it pronounced it as '' probably one of them old powder-flasks turned into stone."
W. F. Evans.
408
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.
VOL. VIII. SIXTH SERIES.
Abergavenny, Domestic Chapel, 228, 291, 292
Adder Bead, 147
Amber Beads, 22, 23, 142, 145
Ancient Grain Crashers, 129-134
Ancient Villages, Remains, 126
Anglesey, The Early Settlers of — Professor Anwyl, 1-28, 121- 148 ; Copper Cakes found io, 24 27; Cromlechs, 6-8; Dwellings, Stone Age, 4 ; Bronze Age, 121 ; Early Trade Routes to Ireland through, 2 ; Implements, Stone Age, 4 ; Bronze Age, 26, 121 ; Metallurgical In- dustry, Early Centre in, 2 ; Stone Implements— Rev. E. Evans, 292-294
Annual Meeting, Llangefni, 104-7 ; Monmouth, 297
Antiquities on Sandhills, Merthyr Mawr— M.Evanson, 261-266; Cross, 262 ; Cist, 264 ; Cre- matorium, 265
Apperson, G. L., Glea/nings after Time Reviewed, 284-286
Archaeological Notes and Queries, 114-120 ; 227-236 ; 287-297 ; 400-7
Ardudwy, Hospital of St. Mary, 288, 406
Axes, Stone, Cowbridge, 407
Axe- head, Palaeolithic Stone, Bedd- gelert, 403, Newbridge- on- Wye, 236
Balance Sheet, Cambrian Archaeo- logical Association, 298 ; Tre- ceiri Fund, 299 ; Pembroke- shire Archaeological Survey, 300
Bangor Cathedral, Coffin found,
401 Barclodiad y Gawres, 17 Barrow, Merddyn Gwyn — Harold
Hughes, 211-220, 297 Baynes, K Neil — Excavations at
Din LUgwy, 86-88, 183-
210 Beads, Amber, 22, 23, 142, 145 ;
Glass, 146, 147 ; Jet, 142,
145 Bedd Bronwen, 136-138 Beddgelert, Palaeolithic Stone Axe- head, 403 Bell of Nicholaston Church, Flemish
—George E. Halliday, 149-
154 Bell-founders — Van Won Arent,
154 ; William Clibbery (Cli-
bury). Holt, 344 Berw, 387-394 ; Mill Tower (Ty-
ddyn Hicke), 77, 387-8 ;
PlasBerw, 77, 388-9 ; Chapel,
390-393 Black Tower, Cardiff, 46, 47 Blaengwenog Barrow, 23i3-234 Bodafon Mountain Cromlech, 17,
19 Bodvel, Sir John, 85 Boddeiniol Cromlech, 9 Bodowyr Cromlech, 8, 10, 12, 71 Bone Needle, 141 Breese, C. E. — Copper Cakes, S.
Carnan'onshire, 229 - 233 ;
Roman Buildings, Glasfryn,
Tremadoc, 287-8 ; Glazed
Pebbles, Llanbedr, Merion- eth, 267-272 Brereton, Sir William, Bart., 156 Bridgwater, John, Earl of. Steward
of Bromfield and Yale, 159,
160 Brief for Holt Church, 312
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.
409
Brohomagli Stone, Voelas Hall — W. B. Halhed, 234-235
Bronze Implements from the Shores of Milford Haven — E. Laws, 114-115
Bronze Age Dwellings, 20, 121 ; Workings in Bronze, 121 ; Burials, 20, 135 ; Urns, 136- 141
Bronze Armlets, 24, 144 ; Boss, 145 ; Brooch^ 28; Celts, 20, 22, 23, 26 ; Palstave, 20; Razor, 142, 146; Rings, 28, 144, 146; Spear-heads, 23; Tweez- ers, 142, 144
Bronze Working, a Looal Industry, Continued through Early Iron Age and Roman Period, 129
Bruyn, Antony, Rector of Gres- ford, 321
Biyn Celli Ddu Cromlech, 8-10, 12, 67-71 ; Pennant, 67 ; Skin- ner, 70
BryDgwyn Tumuli— Philip Staple- ton, 295, 359-376 ; Cinerary Urn (late Bronze), 367; Frag- ment of Bronze, 369 ; Inver- ted Urn Burial, 371-372 ; Flints, 375-376
Bucket, Ty'r Dewin, 82
Burghall, Edward — ** Providence Improved," 157
Burleymen = Byrlawmen, Holt, 166
Burnt Burial, 296
Bushell, Rev. W. Done— "An Island of the Saints," 237- 260; Monastic Remains, Cal- dey Island, 80-81
**Caer-didi,"31 Caerleb (Roman Camp), 71, 72 Caldey Island, 80-81, 237-260 Caldey Priory, 241, 251 ; Reliquary,
257 Caldey Stone, 81, 247-251, 397-398 Camp, Romano - British, Parciau
Village, 85 Capell, Lord, 156 Cardiff, Roman— John Ward, 29- 64, 227-228 ; A Roman Sta- tion, 30 ; Castle Band, 33 ; Roman Roads in District, 40- 42; Bhick Tower, 46, 47;
Compared with other Roman Forts, 53-57; Date and Dura- tion, 57-61 ; Roman Coins Found, 61, 63 ; Roman Pot- tery, 63 ; Best Example of Roman Masonry in Princi- pality, 64
Cardiff— G. T. Clark on Roman Wall at, 32, 34-35
Cardiganshire — Earthen Vessel Found, 233 ; Blaengwenog Barrow, 233-234
Carmarthen Bulwarks, 113 ; Bur- gesses, 113 ; Guide, 113
Carreg y Lleidr, 84
CasteU (not defensive), Anglesey, 74
Celts, Bronze, 20, 22, 23 ; Stone, 18
Cemmaes, Village Hall, 100
Chalice, Dutch (Nicholaston), 154 ; Llanfihangel Tsceifiog, 81
Chambers, John, Rector of Gres- ford, 321-324
Chapel of St. Eilian=a Domus incZiiJt, 101
Church Book of St. Mary's, Tenby — Edward Laws and E. H. Edwards (Review), 110, 111
Cinerary L^m (Bryngwyn), 296, 367
Cinerary Urns, Chronology of, 399
Cist, Merthyr Mawr, 264
Clamped Pottery, 207, 208
Clark, G. T., on Roman Cardiff, 32 34 35
Clibbery*(Clibury), William, Bell- founder at Holt, 344
Clorach, 84
Coffin found, Bangor Cathedral, 401
Communion Tokens, 399
Cotton, Sir Lynch Salusbury, Mayor of Holt, 178
Coins, Roman, 5, 296-297 (Llig- wy) ; 61, 63 (Cardiff) ; Little Orme's Head, 116-118 ; Port- madoc, 404
Consecration Crosses (Holt), 318
Copper Cakes, 24-27, 118, 119, 229- 233
Cornish Hall, 275-276
Cowbridge, Stone Axes, 407
Crematoriimi, Merthyr Mawr, 265
410
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OP CONTENTS.
Cromlech, Its Evolution, 5 ; Char- acteristicfl in Anglesey, 6-8 ; Bodafon Mountain, 17, 19 ; Bodowyr, 8, 10, 12, 71; Bryn Celli Ddu, 8-10, 12, 67- 71 ; Cam Llidi, 14 ; Crem- lyn, 7 ; Dinas Dindryfal, 8 ; Henblas, 11, 15 ; Hendrefor, 7 ; Glyn (Llanbedrgoch), 7 ; Llanvaelog, 15 ; Llugwy, 7, 11, 16, 86 ; Pantysaer, 7, 17, 19 ; Pentretraeth, 7 ; Peny- cnwc, 7, 11 ; Perthi, 18 ; Perthi Duon, 8, 9; Plas Newydd, 8, 10, 13, 19 ; Pre- saddfed, 6, 11 ; Trefignedd, 6, 16 ; Trefor, 10 ; Ty Mawr, 7 ; Ty Newydd, 6
Cross, Incised Slab, Llanfechell, 99
Cross Shaft, Llangaffo, 76 ; Penrhos Lligwy, 91 ; Sandhill, 262
Cross, Consecration, 318
Crucifix, Llaneugrad Church, 85
Crue Chapel, 309 ; Acrostic Brass, 309
Cyttiau Gwyddelod, 121-123, 125, 183
Davies, A. C. Fox, and P. W. P. Carlyon-Britton — A Treati&e on the Law concerning Names and Changes of Name (Re- view), 111-113
Decies, Place-Names of— Hey. P. Power (Review), 224-225
Dindryfal, 127
Din Lligwy, Excavations at, 86-88, 118-210
Din Sylwy (Bwrdd Arthur), 92-93 ; occupied in Roman Times, 126 ; Find at, 296, 297
Dog-fork (Gafl-cwn), 103
Dovecot, Parciau, 85
Early Settlers of Anglesey — Pro- fessor Anwyl, 1-28, 121-148
Early British Remains in Anglesey, 121
Editor, Appointment of, 104
Edwards, E. H., and E. Laws — Monumental Effigies, Pem- brokeshire, 377-386 ; Thir- teenth-Century Figures, 377 ; Mailed Effigies, Upton, 377 ;
Lawrenny, 383-385 ; St. David*s( Wogan),380 ; Mailed 385, 386 ; Nolton, 386 ; Monk- ton, 386
Ettorighi Stone (Llanol), 98
Evans, Rev. E. — Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, 119 ; Stone Imple- ments found, 241, 242
Evanson, M. — Antiquities on Sand- hUle, Merthyr Mawr, 261- 266
Excavations at Din Lligwy— £. NeU Baynes, 86-88, 183-210
Exploration of Tumuli, Caerwys — Rev. P. Stapleton, 295-296. See Bryngwyn Tumuli.
Ffynnon Seiriol, 84
Fisher, J., and S. Baring- Gould — Lives of British Saints^ vol. i (Review), 223-224
Flemish Bell, Nicholaston Church — G. E. HaUiday, 149-164
Flemish Bell, Baschurch, Broms- well, Suffolk, 154
Flints found, 202, 204, 375, 376 ; Axe-head, 236
Font, Holt, 315; Llanbabo, 95; Llanddeiniol Fab, 66, 67 ; Llaneugrad, 85 ; Llanfair yn y Cwmwd, 74, 402 ; Llan- fechell, 100 ; Llangaffo, 77 ; Llangeinwen, 75 ; Llanidan, 73, 394 ; Newborough, 76 ; Nicholaston, 149; I^ynold- stone, 149
Frondeg Stone, 77
Gabb, Baker-, ** Church of Ishow" (Notice), 113
Gafl-cwn (Dog-fork), 103
Gardner, Willoughby, Roman Coins, Little Orme's Head, 116-118 ; On Safe- Keeping of Local Anti(}uities, 228
Glasfryn, Tremadoc, Roman Build- ing—C. E. Breese, 287, 288
Glass, Old, Llanfechell, 100
Glazed Pebbles, Llanbedr, Merion- ethshire—C. E. Breese, 267- 272
Gleanings after Time, Edited by G. L. Apperson (Review), 284-285
ALPflABBTICAL INDEX OF CONTENTS.
411
Grould, S. Baring-, and J. Fislier — Lives of the British Saints, vol. i (Review), 223-224
Gresford, Rectors of, Antony Bruyn, 321 ; John Chambers, 321- 324
Grosvenor, Sir Richard, 174, 176 ; Sir Robert, 177; Thomas, 316 ; Sir Thomas, 176-177
Gulston, A. Stepney, Blaengwenog Barrow, 233, 234; Maes- nonni Stone, 235-236
Gunter, Thomas, Domestic Chapel, Abergavenny, 291, 292
Halhed, W. B. — Brohomagli Stone, Yoelas HaU, 234, 235
Halliday, George E.^Fleinish Bell, Nicholaston Church, 149-154
Hammer Stone, S. Carnarvonshire — T. E. Morris, 233 ; Bryn- gwyn, 295
'*Heutren" — Stone at Maesnonni, 235-236
Hibemicorum Casulee = KiUieu'r Gwyddelod, Gibson's Cam- den, 184
History of KidweUy — Rev. D. Daven Jones (Review), 395- 396
History of St. DogmaeVs Abbey — Emily M. Pritchard (Review), 221-222
History of Diocese of St. Asaph, Part II — Ven. Archdeacon Thomas (Review), 285-286
Holt, Town of. Castle, Church, Franchise, Demesne— A. N. Palmer, 155-182, 273283, 305-344 ; Castle, 155 ; Sur- rendered, 158 ; Dismantled, 161 ; Governor Sir Richard Lloyd, 158 ; Major John Sad- ler, 158-159; Markets Leased to Sir Richard Grosvenor, 160-161 ; Election Excesses, 163 ; Proclamation at Fairs, 165 ; Burleymen, 166 ; Stocks, 167 ; Maces, 167 ; Loving Cup, 167 - 168 ; Mayors, 172-182; Church, 305-309 ; Font, 315 ; Mason Marks, 312-314 ; Registers, 339-341 ; Brief for, 312 ; In- cumbents, 336-339; Tithes,
319, 320; Advowson, 320; '*Lady Priest," 309, 322; Rush-bearing, 329; Sundial Shaft, 331 ; Roman Catholics, 1717, 343
Hospital of St. Mary in Ardudwy, 288,401
Hughes, Harold — Find at Din Sylwy, Roman Coin, Pottery, 296, 297; Coffin, Bangor Cathedra], 406 ; Merddyn Gwyn Banow, 211-220, 297
Hughes of Kinmel, Hugh R. — Heraldic Stone in Llanidan Church, 289
Ireland, The only Duke of, 400 Ireland, Trade Routes through
Anglesey to, 2 Irish Epigraphy, Studies in (Re- view), 396-398
Jones, Rev. D. 'Da,ven—Hidory of KidioeUy (Review), 395-396
Jones, Paul, Commemorated in Jones' Park and Bay, Cal- dey, 258
KidtveUy, History of (Review), 395- 396
"Lady Priest," Holt, 309, 322, 324
Lampetead = Shelf to Carry a Flare with Chimney (Caldey), 255 and 255n.
Laurenny Effigy, 383, 385
Laws, E., and E. H. Edwards— Church Book of St. Mary's, Tenby (Review), 110-111
Laws, E. — Bronze Implements from the Shores of Milford Haven, 114, 115; Tenby Parish Church, Encaustic Tdes, 290
Lives of British Saints— S. Baring Gould and J. Fisher, vol. i (Review), 223-224
Llaneilian Church (Anglesey), 101 ; Roodlof t, 101 ; Poppy-heads, 101; AJtar, Carved, 101; Poor Chest, 103 ; Gafl-cwn, 103 ; Chapel of St. Eilian = Domus inclusi, 101 ; * 'Al- tars-base of Shrine, Super- stitious Use, 102, 103
Llananno (Newborough), 76
412
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OP CONTENTS.
Llanbabo Church, 94 ; Font —In- cised Slab (St. Pabo), 96-97 ;
Doorway (Pre-Norman), 95 ;
Low Side Window, 97 Llanddeiniol Fab Church and Font,
66,67 Llanddyfnan Church, 91 ; South
Doorway, 91, 92 ; Maenhir,
92 Llaiierchymedd Church, Tower,
BeU-gable, 82 Llaneugrad Church, Crucifix, Font,
86 Llanfair yn y Cwmwd Church, 74;
Font, 74, 402; Sepulchral
Slab, 76 Llanfechell Church, 98 ; Tower, 99 ;
Doorway, 99 ; Slab with
Floriated Cross, 99 ; Font
(Norman), 100; Old Glass,
100; Three Pillar Stones,
100 Llanfihangel Din Sylwy Church, 93;
Movable Carved Pulpit, 93 Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd Church,
Cross, Register, 84 Llangafib Church, Cross-shaft, 76 ;
Slabs with Spiral Design, 77 ;
Font, 77 Llangefni Meeting, Report, 65-109 ;
Local Committee, 65-66 Llanfihangel Ysceifiog Chalice and
Cover, 81 Llangeinwen Church, 76 ; Font,
75 ; Incised Slab with Spiral
Ornament, 75 Llanidan Church, 72; Font, 73,
394 ; Reliquary, 73 ; "Mys-
teiious" Stoup, 74 ; Heraldic
Stone, 289 Llanna Iltuti, 240 Llanol Stone, Ettorighi, 98 Lloyd, Sir Richard, of Esclus Hall,
Governor of Holt Castle,
158 **Lon Bwbach,"91
Maocudecceti Stone (Penrhos Llig-
wy), 88 Maces, Holt, 167 Maen Morddwyd (Llanidan), 73 Maesnonni Inscribed Stone, 119,
235, 236 Mailed Efiigies, Pembrokeshire,
377-386
Margaret's (St.) Island, 268
Mason Marks, Holt Church, 312- 314
Merddyn Gwyn Barrow— Rev. E. Evans, 119 ; Harold Hughcss, 211-220, 297; Skulls, Ske- letons (l)doubled-up, (2) ex- tended; Drinking Cup, IJms
Merthyr Mawr Antiquities — Cross, Cist, Crematorium, 261-266
Metallurgical Industry, Early Centre of, Anglesey, 2
Milford Haven, Bronze Implements from Shores of, 114, 115
Mill Tower (Tyddyn Hicke), Berw, 387,388
Monkton Effigy, 386
Monumental Effigies, Pembroke- f-hire — E. Laws and E. H. Edwards, 377-386
Morrisiaid Memorial Fund, 120
Mortaria, Din Lligwy, 206 ; Glas- fryn, 287
Mould for Casting Bronze Imple- ments, 21
MuUer Stone, 134, 136
Myddelton, Sir Thomas, Knight, 156
Necklace, Jet, 24
Newborough Church, 76 ; Font, 76;
Sepulchral Slab, 76 Nicholaston Church Chalice (Dutch)
154 ; Font (Norman), 149 ;
Flemish Bell, 149-154 Nolton Effigy, 386 Notes and Queries, 114-120, 227
236, 287-297, 400-7
Obituary— W. Trevor Parkins, 303, 304; R. H. Wood, V.P., 300-302
Pabo, St., Inscribed Slab, 95-97 Palmer, A. N.— Town of Holt: Castle, Church, Franchise, Demesne, 165-182, 273-283, 305-344 ; the only Duke of Ireland, 400 Parciau, 124, 125 ; Dovecot, 8B Parciau Village, Romano - British
Camp, 85 Parkins, W. Trevor— Obituary, 303, 304
ALPHABETICAL INDKX OF CONTENTS.
413
Pebbles, Glazed, Llanbedr, Merion- eth, 267-272 ; in Scottish Chapels, 270, 271 Peck of Cornish, Pedigree, 276 Peck, Jasper, Slab of, 327
Pembrokeshire Archaeological Sar- vey. Balance Sheet, 300
Penrhos Lligwy Church, 88, 124 ; Maccudecceti Stone, 88 ; Shaft of Cross, 91
Pentraeth ( Anglesey), Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, 119, 211-220, 297
Pillar Stones, Uanfechell, 100
Piro, First Abbot of Caldey, 239
Place- Names of Decies — Rev. P. Power (Review), 224, 225
Place-Names — Bodorgan, Clora6h, 236
Plas Berw, 77, 388-390
Pleistocene Bones, 238
Poor-box, Llaneilian, 103
'* Popples" = boulders, 48
*' Poppy-heads", Llaneilian Church, 101
Porthamel, an Old Celtic Town, 122, 123
Perth Dafarch, Discoveries at, 127
Powell, Rev. F. W., A Short Ac- count of St. Gregory's Min- ster, Kirkdale, 226
Power, Rev, P., FkLce-Names of Decies (Review), 224, 225
Priory, Caldey = Cell of St. Dog- mael's, 241, 251
**Pryck-Spur,"382
Proceedings of the Society of Anti- quaries of ScoUand, vol. i (Review), 398, 399
Punch-Bowl, Lewis Morris — In- scription, 82
Pyr= Former Name of Caldey, 239, 241
Querns discovered in Anglesey, 129-134
Randall Rawlings, Stipendiary or **Lady Prieste," Holt, 324
Reliquary, Alabaster, Caldey, 257 ; LLfinidan, 73
Reviews and Notices of Books : — Church Book of St. Mary, Tenby, 110, 111 ; A Treatise on the Law concerning
Names and Changes of Name, 111, 112 ; History of St. Dogmael's Abbey, 221- 222 ; The Lives of the British Saints, vol. i, 222-224 ; The Place-Names of Decies, 224- 225 ; St. Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale, 225-226; Glean- ings after Time, 284-285; History of the Diocese of St. Asaph, Part II, 285- 286 ; A History of Kid- welly, 395-396; Studies in Irish Epigraphy, 396-398; Proceedings of the Society- of Antiquaries of Scotland, 398, 399
Reynoldstone Font, Norman, 149
Rhyd-y-Sam, 42
Ridley Wood, Jacobean Bedstead and Ches% 280
Roden, Serjeant John, 321
Rood-loft, Llaneilian, 101
Roman Cardiff— John Ward, 2964, 227-228 ; Roman Fort, 34, 37, 38 ; Wall, 32-35 ; Roads in Cardiff District, 40-42
Roman Buildings of Glasfryn, Tremadoc, 287-288
Roman Coins, 61, 63, 116-118, 296, 297 ; Pottery, 63, 296, 297 ; Road, 40-42, 91
Romano- British Camp, 92, 93 ; VUlage, 85, 184
Rush-bearing, Holt, 329
Samson, Second Abbot of Caldey,
239 Sea-robbers in Mediaeval Times,
255 Sepulchral Slabs, Newborough, 76 ;
Llangeinwen, with Spiral
Ornament, 75 ; Llanbabo,
95-97 ; Uanfechell, 99 Skeletons found, Merddyn Gwyn,
213, 217, 220 Skinner, Rev. John — Tour Through
Anglesey, 184 Speed Family at Holt, 274 Speed, David, Mayor of Holt, 173 Spindle-whorls, 135, 187, 201 Stapleton, Rev. P. — Exploration
of Tumuli, 295 ; Bryngwyn
Tumuli, 359, 376 Stone Hammer, 295
414
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OP CONTENTS-
Stone Implements, Anglesey, 292-
294 Stone, Inscribed, 98, 234-236, 247-
251 Stone Mullers, 134, 135 Stone Stocks, Holt, 167 Sttidies in Irish Epigraphy — R. A.
Stewart Macalister(Revie<r),
396-398 Sun-dial Shaft (? Roman), Holt,
331
Tenby, Church Book of St. Mary*s 110, 111; Encaustic Tiles found, 290
Thomas, Ven. Archdeacon, HiHory of the Diocete of St, Asaph, Part II (Review), 285-286
Tibia Amnis, 31
Tiles, Roman, 288 ; Mediieval, 290
Tintem Abbey, Its First Founder —James G. Wood, 345-358 ; Founded by Walter Fitz- Richard, 349 ; Disputes and Grievance of Urban, Bishop of Llandaff, 352-354 ; BuUd-
ing of Second Church by
R^er, Fifth Earl of Norfolk,
355-357 TrecUise on Law concerning ^r^mes
and Changes of Name — A. C.
Fox Davies and P. W^. P.
Oarlyon - Britton (Re vie ir) ,
111-113 Treceiri Balance-Sheet, 299 Trescawen, Ty'n Rhosydd Stone,
83, 84 Tumuli, Bryngwyn, near Caerwjrs,
295, 359-376
Upton, Mailed Effigy, 377
'* Will's Mark," 257
Wood, James G. — Tintern Abbey,
Its First Founder, 345-358 Wood, R. H., V.P., Obituary,
300-302
Ynys Lyrad, 128
Ynys y Pyr, Ynys y Pyry, Ynys Bery, 258
415
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Font (Plate)
Portrait of the late J. Bomilly Allen, F.S.A. Roman Cardiff: Castle, Bank.
Plans ....
Roman Roads
Roman Wall, Bastions, Qateway (Seven Plates) Bryn Celli Dda Cromlech (Two Plates) LlaAidan Church Llangeinwen Font Ty'n Rhosydd Stone (Plate) . Din Lligwy (Two Plates) Penrhos Lligwy, Maooudecceti Stone
„ Shaft of Cross
Llanddyfnan Church, Doorway (Plate) Llanfihangel^Din Sylwy Chnrch Llanbabo Chnroh and Doorway
„ King Pabo Slab and
Llanfechell Church, Doorway, Font Llaneilian Dog-fork
Tenby Church, Effigy, John White (Plate) Bronze Implements from the Shores of Milford Haven The Flemish Bell, Nicholaston Church, Gower Holt Castle : Buck's Print, c. 1750 ; ditto, 1905 The Excavations at Din Lligwy : Plan (Plate)
Finds
Chamber No. 2
Panoramic View (Folding Plate)
Chamber No. 4
Chamber No. 5 Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, Excavation
Plan of Barrow
Drinking-cnp and Fragments found Copper Cakes found in South Carnarvonshire
Stamps on Copper Cakes . Brohomagli Inscribed Stone at Yoelas Hall '* Maesnonni " Inscribed Stone Richard Henry Wood, F.S.A., F.R.G.S. (Plate) Caldey Island and St. Margaret's from the Mainland
The Village Church, Caldey Island
The Priory Chapel, Interior
PAQB
Frontispiece
33,34
36, 37, 46
41
48, 50
66,68
. 73
75
84
. 86
. 89
90
92
93
94,95
. 96
98, 99, 100
. 102
. 110
. 115
150-153
. 162
. 184
187, 192. 195
189, 190
. 192
197, 198
. 200
. 212
213
214, 215, 216, 218
229, 231,232
230
234 236 237 238 242, 243 . 244
416
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Chancel Arch of the Village Church . Caldej Stone . . . • •
Caldey Priory, Tower and Gateway Recumbent Figure found with a Reliquary Rained Buildingrs on St. Margaret's Island Antiquities on the Sandhills at Merthyr Mawr: Plan
Sandhill Cross, Cist, Cromatoriara 262,
Cornish Hall, County Denbigh Armorial Bearings at Llanidan Church, Anglesey Stone Implements in Anglesey
Inverted Urn Burial found near Caerwys, Flintshire Holt Church . ....
Crue Acrostic Brass, Holt Church
Mason Marks in Holt Church
Font in Holt Church
Mitred Head now at Holt Hall
Slab of Jasper Peck
Shaft of Sun-dial in Holt Churchyard
Holt Bridge ....
Bryngwyn Tumuli : Map
Stone Hammer from Tumulus No. 2
Tumulus from South- West during Excavation
Pattern of Fragment of Um
Detail of Secondary Interment
Inverted Urn ....
Details of Rim of Cinerary Urn Mailed Effigy at Upton Effigy in St. David's Cathedral Pryck-Spur ..... Effigy of a Mailed Figure at Lawrenny Berw: The Mill Tower
Plas Berw from a Sketch in 1861.
Chapel at Llanfihangel Eskeiviog.
Llanidan Old Church, 1861
Font, Llanidan Church Coffin found in Bangor Cathedral Font, Llanfair yn y Cwmwd, Anglesey Stone Axe-head found near Beddgelert
PAQB
. 245 . 249
250. 252, 253 . 257 . 259 . 261
263, 264, 265
. 275
. 289
293,294
. 295
307,308, 311 . 310 . 313 . 3lf>
. 326 . 327 . 332 . 342
361, 364 . 363 . 366 . 368 . 370 . 372 . 373 . 378 . 381 . 382
383, 384 . 388 . 389 . 390 . 392 . 394 401
402, 403 . 404
SUPPLEMENT.
Rev. J. Skinner's Tour through Anqleset.
lllastrations, pages 1 to 89.
LONDON: PRINTKI) AT TliK UEDKORD rRK8H, 20 AND 21, BBDPORDBURT, W.C.
^ithaciitiigia Cam(rreir»t»
TEN DAYS' TOUR
THROUGH
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
DECEMBEH, 1802
REV. JOHN SKINNER
RECTOR OP CAUBRTON, B0HERSBT8HIRE
SUPPLEMENT, JULY, 1908.
LONDON :
yuilis|)eli foi; t^t titambttan attliaeoUgital Sssocmtton bs
('HARLES J. CLARK, fl5, CHANCERY LANE, W.C.
INTRODUCTION
The Rev. John Skinner's Ten Days' Tour Through Anglesey, which is given in the following pages, has been carefully transcribed from the manuscript in the British Museum^ the punctuation, spelling, and use of capitals followed strictly throughout. Some notes have been kindly furnished by Mr..E. Neil Baynes, F.S.A., and he has also copied (in black and white) most of the water-colour illustrations which are included m the manuscript. The illustrations are reduced from the original size, but with this exception and the absence of colour they have been copied as closely as possible, with all errors of perspective, etc. Some of the drawings would appear to have been done by Mr. Skinner in the evening from memory, and not on the spot. The complete list is printed herewith, and the pages where the plates appear in the original. A copy of an extract from Mr. Skinners will is subjoined, in which he expresses his particular wish that the chests containing his numerous notebooks should not be opened until the expiration of fifty years from the day of his death.
Extracted from the Principal Registry of the Probate Divorce
and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice
In the Prerogative Uourt of Canterbury.
In the will of the Reverend John Skinner late Rector of Camerton in the county of Somerset deceased dated Ist February 1839 is as follows: —
No. 2. I give and bequeath to the trustees of the British Museum all my Journals and other Manuscripts transcribed by my late brother Russell from No. 1 to No. 110 both
A 2
4 INTRODUCTION
1
inclusive and interleaved with original drawings together with the Journals I have made in my own hand- writing since my brother s death from the year one thousand eight hundred i
and thirty three to the year one thousand eight hundred and .
thirty-eight in volume 1 to volume 36 of an Octavo size with I
blue Morocco backs containinor altosrether in number one I
hundred and forty six which I desire may be safely conveyed to the trustees of the British Museum with the five Iron Chests |
in which they are now contained and I request my said executor the Reverend John Hammond to see to the per- formance of this bequest in the manner aforesaid and it is my particular wish and request that neither of the Iron Chests with the contents aforesaid shall be opened till after the expiration of fifty years from the day of my death but provided the trustees of the British Museum should raise any objection thereto it is my will that my before mentioned request should not be insisted upon.
Proved (with two Codicils)
14th November 1839
Fos 4
J JC
7 1 6 Vaughan
N.B. — It is not to be inferred that the foregoing extract contains the only portion of the said Will referring to the matters therein mentioned.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FAOB
1. PlAsGoch ... ... ... ... 23
2. Blochty Enclosures ... ... ... 25
3. Bryn Gwjn. Stone by Cottage ... ... 27
4. Ground Plans, Oaer Leb, etc. ... ... 28
6, 7. Bodowyr Cromlech (2) ... ... 30, 31
8, 9, 10, 11. Camedd at Plas Newydd (4) 34, 37
12. Cromlech at Plas Newydd ... ... ... 39
Cromlech and Stables (omitted).
5. Ground Plan, Bryn Gwydryn, etc. Coins of Edward YI and Elizabeth (omitted). Bryn Celli, Plan and Finds ... Uanidan Church ...
16. Stone (Fitzgerald) in Llanidan Church
17. Maen Llwyd Cromlech
18. Frondeg Stone
19. Llangadwaladr Church
20. Llangadwaladr Doorway, showing Stone Inscription to Rich. Williams (omitted as it is in
the text).
21. Llangadwaladr Church Inscribed Stone
22. Henblas Cromlech ...
23. Oerrigceinwen Church
24. 25. Cerrigceinwen Church Clochti (2)... 26, 27, 28. Cerrigceinwen Church Font (2) 29. Aberffraw Church Arch.
Liang wyf an Church (omitted)
31. Liang wyf an Church, Interior
32. Llangwyfan House
33. Cromlech at Mynydd y Cnwc A half-iinisbed sketch of Trecastel Bay (omitted).
34. Llanfaelog Cromlech (2) ... ... 78, 79
36. Crighyll Cromlech .. . ... ... ... 81
37, 39. Presaddfedd Cromlech (3) ... 84, 86 Proposed Menai Bridge (omitted).
41. Llantrisant Stone.
Pabo Stone (omitted, vide Arch. Camb.^ January,
xt/\/0) ... ... ... ... ... t/O
Doorway at Llanbabo (omitted, vide Arch. Camb., January, 1908) ... ... ... ... 94
42
44 49 50 52 53 55 56
.. 57 .. 60 .. 63 64, 55 66, 68 70 71 72 74 75
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
45. Llanfechell Stones ... ... ... ... 96
Llanfechell Church and Font ... ... 97
46. Llaneilian Church .. . ... ... ... 99
Parjs Mine (omitted).
48. Three Stones (near Amlwch) ... 106
49. Llanol Stone ... ... ... ... 112
50. Cromlech on Bodafon Mountain and Carreg
Ueidr ... ... ... ... 115
Coin of Diocletian (omitted).
51. View of Bodafon Mountain from N.W. ... 116 53. View of Bodafon Mountain from S.E. ... 119
53. Stones in Penrhos lligwy Churchyard ... 121
54. Lligwy Cromlech ... ... ... 123
55. Lligwj Cromlech, Caer Uigw J ... ... 124
56. Llanallgo Cromlech and Font (in(26 note) ... 125 Stones at Marianglas (omitted).
58. Llaniestyn Stone .. . ... ... ... 130
59. Llaniestyn Font ... ... ... ... 132
60. 61. Cromlech atTrefor (2) ... ... 134, 135
Altar Tomb in Penmynydd Church, sketched
from memory (omitted).
No. 99. The stepped gable over the gateway should, I think, be over the porch, and the pointed gable shown over the porch should be over the gateway, but I am not certain.
No. 115. The font described as in PenrhosUigwy Church is really the old font of Llanallgo. It was covered with plaster and set on a rough mass of masonry. When the Church was restored, about fifteen years ago, the plaster was cut away and the font was redressed.
N.B.— The beginning of a page in the original is marked by the introduction in the text of folio and number between brackets, thus (fol. 22).
Additional MSS. 33,636
This book was transcribed from my Journal by my brother Russell Skinner (who was the com- panion of my Tour) Anno Dom : 1804
SKETCHES IN ANGLESEA
TAKEN IN DECEMBER 1802
BY
REV? JOHN SKINNER
1802 62
1740
I give this Vol. of my Anglesea Tour with my other Journals, to the British Museum to be retained by them according to the directions I have left in my will respecting the disposal of my MSS.
(fol. 22)
TEN DAYS' TOUR TH. THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
Anno 1802
Thursday, December 2
We left Capel Cerig early this morning on horseback with the design of examining the Celtic remains in the Isle of Anglesea the Harper of the inn accom- panying us in the capacity of interpreter. After a ride of fifteen miles along the vale of Nantffrancon by Lord Penrhyn's quarries we came to Moel-don ferry about eleven o'clock when returning our horses by a boy (fol. 22a) (previously sent forward for the purpose from Capel Cerig) we proceeded as pedestrians. Our passage across the Menai savoured somewhat of quixottism for the ferry boat being on the other side waiting for passengers we were unable to brook the delay so taking possession of a fisherman's skifl^ lying on the beach we rowed to the Island pursuing nearly the same track as the Romans seventeen hundred years ago under the command of Paulinus Suetonius which event is so particularly described by Tacitus.
On our landing we immediately made the necessary enquiries at a public house for the route we were to pursue and found the places we had noted down lay so wide asunder it would be impossible to comprehend them in the course of the day. We accordingly deter- mined on making that our sleeping place and after a slight meal (fol. 24) took the road across the fields to Llanidan. In our way passed an ancient mansion called
10 TEN DATS TOUR THROUOH
Pita Goch apparently built in the time of Elizabeth. A little way beyond the house ia a natural barrier of rock rising abruptly above the level ground arid ex- tending almost the whole way to Porthamel the distance of half a mile. Near this place in a meadow the Komans are supposed to have formed their ranks immediately on landing and the field to this day retains the name of Pant y scraffie, or the place of the passage boats. At low tides the channel
No. 1. PIUb Goch, December 2,
LB not above three or four feet deep so that it might easily have been crossed by the cavalry in the manner described by the Historian and the natural barrier before mentioned being so contiguous, it is not at all improbable that it was the first post occupied by the Komans under Paulinus Suetonius on their invasion of the island 1740 years ago. " IgJtur Monam insu- 1am, ineolis validam et receptaculum perfiigarum ad-
fredi parat, navesque fabiicatur piano alveo adversus reve litus (flat bottomed boats to pass over the shallows) et incertum — sic pedes — (the infantry thus
THE ISLE OF ANQLESEA 11
passed over) equites vado secuti aut altiores inter undas adnantes equis tramisere." The cavalry followed the infantry, and by fording and swimming over the deeper channels arrived at the opposite side. Tac. Ann. lib. 14, c. 29. A few minutes' walk brought us to Llanidan church, which seems superior to (fol. 24a) the generality of Welsh buildings of the kind having a double roof and two bells in the clochti or belfry. A large irregular built mansion^ belonging to Mr.
I : — /i^ My ^ y<^ t^ y ^^*****^ i^u^^^^
f>
. -^ _' V
• - - - . » , ..'■■■
.f>^\^ Sfi jr. 'y
*^ <• << c/ Ar: •-''- '^"^ , .
\'\ u. J . Ji' .'."-' . /.
No. 2.
Williams who has acquired such immense property in the Pary's Mines stands close to it. Prom Llanidan we took the road to Bryn Shenkin half a mile be- yond. It is where Mr. Koland supposes the Britons formerly had a town but now every trace is lost. Having procured a lad well acquainted with the neigh- bourhood to conduct us by the nearest route we quickly proceeded to Blochti half a mile further to the north- west.^ At this place on a steep bank or rather ridge
^ Llanidan House belonged to Lord Boston, from whom Mr. Williams rented it. ^ South-west.
12 TEN DATS TOUR THROUGH
of rock (a quarry being now worked beneath) we traced the foundations of four or five circular building in a line close to each other each measuring nearly seven yards in diameter. The same gentleman Mr. Rowland describes these as the remains (fol. 26) of British habitations and his opinion seems to be con- firmed by some others of a similar form lying in a meadow called Tan-ben-y-cefn not two hundred yards from the spot. These latter are surrounded by two
u CottBge calleil Bryo Gwyu.
quadrangular earthworks the larger fifty yards by forty containing four of these circular foundations the smaller (forty yards by thirty) only two. It is not improbable that some of the Homan soldiers might have occupied this spot after driving the inhabitants from their possessions and that the earth works were thrown up by them by way of security.
Crossing a barren marshy heath we saw the banks of a circular work probably formed for the same purpose as that we before noticed at Caerleon and I presume was a gymnasium or place of exercise (the
THE ISLE OF ANGLES E A
13
country people indeed have an idea it was a fortifica- tion as our guide informed us it still goes by the name of the Castle.^ Whatever it was it does not appear to have been at all connected with the Druidical worship (fol. 26a) as Mr. Rowland supposes). The mound encompassing the area may be from ten to fifteen feet in height the diameter of the circle sixty yards. This measurement I believe is nearly accurate but part of the circle having been destroyed in order to form a
wo
• >>
./
U'i*i*^ ^
%4^
0(f({ JcufWW
• • »
:te
<• ... -
;i.
-I
■'r
Na 4.
cart road makes it more difficult to determine with certainty. On enquiring for some ancient stones noticed by Mr. Roland at a place called Bryn Gwyn we were directed to one standing near a cottage a quarter of a mile to the north-west^ of the circus. It was of a lozenge form measuring above three yards in height and two in width. We observed none of equal dimensions near at hand but in a field at the back of the cottage there were six each about a yard high placed three and three at equal distances so as to form
1 Oaatell near Bryn Gwyn. ^ West.
14 TEN DATS TOUR THBOUQH
two exact triangles. From hence we proceeded slong* higher ground to a farm house called (fol. 29) Tref Drw (Druids town) where some of that venerable order are said to have resided. Now the name alone records the circumstance to posterity as there is nothing remaining which can be attributed to so remote a period. But not far distant we were directed to a quadrangular earth work thrown up on marshy ground near the brook (or as it is termed by the inhabitants
if Boclowjr Cromlech.
the river Briant)'. The outer mound* measures fifty yards by forty and is about five feet in height the trench 12 feet wide. Near the centre of the enclosure we noticed the foundation of another of the circular huta above mentioned and in an angle to the south east appearances of walls and buildings. The course of the river must have altered consider- ably in aftertimes otherwise the Romans would hardly have chosen so damp a spot even for a tem- porary encampment. Still continuing in a northerly
THB ISLE OF ANQLE8EA 15
direction and leaping over the river Briant we regained the higher ground near (fol. 29a) Bodower' house which is at present occupied by a farmer who rents the property of Lord Boston, Here we were gratified by the sight of a very perfect chromlech standing in a field to the N.W.^ of the house. The upper stone terminates in a ridge like the roof of a building and measures seven feet four inches long three feet deep and four wide : this is sustained by three supporters
Mo. 7. End View of Bodowjr Cromlech,
each three feet in height & nearly the same in thickness. That cromlechs were not always used (if they were at all) as altars for sacrifice I think may be demonstrated by the one before us (as its Pyramidieal form is by no means adapted to the purpose. Indeed there is a tradition amongst the Welsh that this rude memorial was erected over the grave of a British princess named Bronwen who flourished in the year of the world 3105 ! ! ! 1). My sketches being finished we
1 Bodowyr. ^ Half a mile south-west.
16 TEN days' tour THROUGH
hastened on hoping to reach Mafyrian^ a mile and a half further before the evening closed in but owing to a mistake of the guide's we lost our way and wandered about until it grew quite dark. Our disappointment however was in some respect alleviated (fol. 32) by the intelligence we received of some Roman coins in possession of a person at Tre Evan^ a cottage we were to pass on our return. The moon having by this time risen above the horizon we had a pleasant walk to Tre Evan and entering the door made known the purport of our visit to the good lady of the house who readily acknowledged she once had a great many bits of brass money but thinking them of no value tad given them her children to play with. On our anxious request through our interpreter for a more exact scruitiny in this important concern she began rumag- ing a little cupboard and at length produced a coun- terfeit shilling of William the third which she said was all that she retained of any money. This was a mortifying termination to our suspence as we were in hope a few (fol. 32a) might have escaped the general dispertion. On enquiring how the brass coins came into her possession she informed us that about six years ago whilst a labourer was building a wall round a field near her house he took materials for the purpose from the foundations of some circular buildings (similar to those at Blochti) in one of which he discovered a millstone containing in the cavity at the centre about two quarts of brass coins. He also dug up a smaller millstone which she still retained in her cottage. On producing it I found it of a close texture and tho' only ten inches in diameter weighing twenty-six pounds. This probably belonged to a hand mill as it seems to resemble those I noticed in my excursion along the Roman wall. By the way the circumstance of finding these coins hid in the foundation of a circular building sufficiently proves that the Romans occupied the
^ Myfyrian. ^ Tre If an.
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA 17
premises after the Britons had quitted them. We returned at seven o'clock to Moel-don and supped in company with a young clergyman just appointed to the curacy of the parish. He proved an agreeable companion and gave us some interesting (fol. 33) in- formation regarding the new regulations at Oxford. On retiring to our sleeping apartments we found them altogether the most homely I ever occupied. However as we had made up our minds not to quarrel with trivial difficulties we resigned ourselves to our lot without murmuring and sleep soon veiled all in ob- livion.
Friday, Deck. 3
We were up early this morning but it rained so fast we could not leave the house till ten. I employed the interval in copying a map of the Island on a large scale which is to be filled up as we proceed. Accom- panied by our new acquaintance we first visited Llane- dwyn^ church where he officiates for the first time next Sunday. The church yard and a great part of the parish has lately been enclosed by Lord Uxbridge's park walls and we were not a little surprized to find a (fol. 33a) porter's lodge and a locked gate on the church road.
In the church yard is a flat stone with a Latin inscription to Rowlands the antiquarian who held this living with Llanidan for many years. We found by the date that he died in one thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven.
What is very extraordinary for the author of such a book as Mona Antiqua we were told he was never above once out of the Island in his life.
Llanedwyn church is said by this gentleman to have been originally founded by Edwen neice or daughter to king Edwin anno domini six hundred and four though none of the present building we presume can boast of
1 Llanedwen.
B
18 TEN DATS TOUR THROCOH
that antiquity it being formed after the present model of Welsh churches. Yet it retains its bason for holy water, its modern crosses, and a curious inscription cut on the back of one of the pews, the letters running in a circle with i. h. s. in the centre. I believe the inscrip- tion is Welsh : the character (fol. 38) apparently that made use of in the time of Henry the seventh. From hence we pursued our walk across the park towards Lord Uxbridge's house stopping in the way to examine a very large Carnedd' or artificial hillock formed of
|
"*' "% |
||
|
''4 |
"-is. |
Lord Uihridge'B P»rk, North Side.
loose stones but now overgrown with turf and trees. This remain is one of the most considerable in the island measuring one hundred and thirty-four paces in circumference. On walking round it we observed a square opening on the south side which I entered on my hands and knees and found it about ten feet long, four wide and three high, the sides formed of three large flat stones placed edgeways in the ground supporting the roof which consiste of only two. I have endeavoured to he as exact as I could in my drawings of this cistfaen {which without
< Carnedd at Fl&s Newjdd.
THIS ISLE OF ANGLESEA
19
No. 9. South Side and Entrance of the Cainedd.
No. 10. Ground Plan of the Cisfaen within the Carnedd.
doubt it was) and employed as the grave of some considerable personage (folio 38a) in ancient
b2
1
20
TEN DAYS TOUR THROUGH
times though Mr. Tlowlands appropriates the carnedd to a very different use and connects it with the religion of the Druids. In his time three skeletons were dis- covered in digging near the surface of the camedd which gave him an idea of its being a place of sacri- fice but he had never an opportunity of viewing the interior (the opening having been discovered within these few years) he was unable to speak with certainty on the subject. This was certainly the mode of sepulture among the Brit(»ns, and northern invaders
4% r^*^ ^*^ tv^'/if*/^ ****y.
No. 11. Interior of the CisfAen, the Right-hand Side on Entering.
before the introduction of Christianity, and many of the open parts of England especially Wiltshire & Dorsetshire abound in them, there they are denome- nated barrows, in Derbyshire & the northern coun- ties they are called lows. The term carnedd implies a heap of stones.
From hence we proceeded to look at a very large cromlech^ or Druidical altar preserved in the Park near his lordship's stables. In our way there we passed in front of the house a vast pile of building
1 Cromlech at Plas Newydd.
tRt rSLfe or" AffGLEStA
■2i
designed by Wyatt and recently fitted up with every elegance of modem refinement but as the family (fol. 41) were at home we could not visit the in- teriour. However I made a drawing of the crom- lech which is nearly four yards long and above a yard thick, the supporters at the north end nearly five feet high a smaller atone lying close to the other extremity measuring three feet long and two and a half thick has also its small supporters and is to all appearance intended as a separate cromlech. A large tree spread-
No. 12. Cromlech in Lord Uxbridge'n Park- ing its branches over the moss grown stone and the venerable wood sheltering the park are still very' impressive and give some idea of the enthusiasm these objects were capable of inspiring when connected with superstition. The stables, not far distant from the spot are built in a style of gothic architecture resem- ' bling an extensive monastery, the pampered and lazy steeds within their stalls may be considered as no inapt emblem of the former (fol. 41a) inhabitants of such kind of edifices. From hence we walked to a modern villa situated in another part of the grounds
12 TEN DATS TOOK THROUGH
of rock (a quarry being now worked beneath) we traced the foundations of four or five circular boilainge in a line close to each other each measuring nearly seven yards in diameter. The same gentleman Mr. Rowland describes these as the remains (fol. 26) of British habitations and his opinion seems to be con- firmed by some others of a similar form lying in a meadow called Tan-ben-y-cefn not two hundred yards from the spot. These latter are surrounded by two
No. 3. Druiilical Stone Btanding near a Cottnge called BrjD awyn.
quadrangular earthworks the larger fifty yards by forty containing four of these circular foundations the smwler (forty yards by thirty) only two. It is not improbable that some of the Roman soldiers might have occupied this spot after driving the inhabitants from their possessions and that the earth works were thrown up by them by way of security.
Crossing a barren marshy heath we saw the banks of a circular work probably formed for the same purpose as that we before noticed at Caerleon and I presume was a gymnasium or place of exercise (the
Tat ISLE OF ANOLSSEA 23
The Romans are supposed to have fixed upon this spot as their principal station in the Island though the shape of the fortress^ differs from their usual form being a semicircle ninety yards across defended by a triple trench to the southward and to the north by the natural barrier above mentioned. I was anxious to see whether the walls had been constructed with cement as in the more finished works of the Romans but could gain no information on the subject having nothing with us to clear away the rubbish from the surface. On asking the guide whether they had ever discovered any copper coins, he said oh yes he had some in his possession and off he ran like a dart to his cottage nearly half a mile distant. We waited his return hoping at length our wishes would be gratified in this respect when lo ! instead of coins bearing the eflSgies of the Caesars he produced a handful of (fol. 43a) rough copper ore, on explaining to him what we wanted saymg they resembled a piece of money he said he had one of that kind also of silver which he picked up a short time since in a field near home whither he returned with equal alacrity to procure it and shortly made his appearance with a shilling of Elizabeth's ! ! ! So much for coins. There seems to be a fatality against my collecting any. In my excursion along the Roman Wall I heard of many but could obtain none. Those I procured at Caerwent are unfortunately lost many have certainly been dug up in these parts but either lost or disposed of. We continued our progress from Bryn Gwyderin in a northerly direction towards Mafyrian the distance of two miles over heaths & bogs. At this place we expected to meet with some Druidical remains noticed by Mr. Rowlands but they have all been cleared (fol. 45) away since his time. At Bodlew we expe- rienced a similar disappointment. We therefore pro- ceeded towards Llanddeiniol church in expectation of
1 Castell Idris.
TEN DATS TOUR THROUGH
J*n->6«*ki.
A^WBf /fit
Bryn CeLi Mh Cromlech.
^n'E iSLE OF ANGLESEA 25
Seeing soine painted glass said to have been presented by the notorious Judge Jeflfries whose family formerly resided here but nothing of the kind m as to be seen or indeed anything else for never was I in so dark or dismal a place. But in this parish we were fully recompensed for all our former disappointments by the sight of the Carnedd at Bryn Celli.
Accompanied by a young farmer who procured a lanthorn for the purpose we walked nearly a mile to the south east of the church to the spot where in Mr. Rowlands' time there were two carnedds remaining having two rude stone pillars placed between them but these stones have been employed for the purpose of building a wall near this place as well as a great part (fol. 45a) of the western carnedd which is nearly destroyed for the same purpose about twenty 5^ears ago when the labourers when digging towards the center discovered a flat pan about ten inches over- turned bottom upwards and under it a wedge of gold as they pretend the size of the heater of an iron with a piece of wire passing through the smaller end of it. The father of the young man who was with us happened to be one of the workmen employed at the time, but as what they found was immediately taken by Colonel Peacock the proprietor of the ground the man could give no further account of the circumstance. I should imagine that what they called the wedge of gold was no other than one of the brazen celts or sacrificial instruments used in former times which have been discovered in great numbers in Cornwall and (fol. 46) other parts of the kingdom. Whilst a farmer was removing some of the stones from the north east side of the larger carnedd to employ them in his repairs he came to the mouth of a passage covered with a square stone similar to that at PlS,s Newydd, anxi- ous to reap the fruits of his discovery he procured a light and crept forward on his hands and knees along the dreary vault, when lo ! in a chamber at the further end a figure in white seemed to forbid his approach.
16 TEN days' tour THROUGH
hastened on hoping to reach Mafyrian^ a mile and a half further before the evening closed in but owing to a mistake of the guide's we lost our way and wandered about until it grew quite dark. Our disappointment however was in some respect alleviated (fol. 32) by the intelligence we received of some Roman coins in possession of a person at Tre Evan^ a cottage we were to pass on our return. The moon having by this time risen above the horizon we had a pleasant walk to Tre Evan and entering the door made known the purport of our visit to the good lady of the house who readily acknowledged she once had a great many bits of brass money but thinking them of no value 6ad given them her children to play with. On our anxious request through our interpreter for a more exact sc?uitiny in this important concern she began rumag- ing a little cupboard and at length produced a coun- terfeit shilling of William the third which she said was all that she retained of any money. This was a mortifying termination to our suspence as we were in hope a few (fol. 32a) might have escaped the general dispertion. On enquiring how the brass coins came into her possession she informed us that about six years ago whilst a labourer was building a wall round a field near her house he took materials for the purpose from the foundations of some circular buildings (similar to those at Blochti) in one of which he discovered a millstone containing in the cavity at the centre about two quarts of brass coins. He also dug up a smaller millstone which she still retained in her cottage. On producing it I found it of a close texture and tho' only ten inches in diameter weighing twenty-six pounds. This probably belonged to a hand mill as it seems to resemble those I noticed in my excursion along the Roman wall. By the way the circumstance of finding these coins hid in the foundation of a circular building sufficiently proves that the Romans occupied the
1 Myfyrian. « Tre Ifan.
THE ISLE OP ANGLESEA 17
premises after the Britons had quitted them. We returned at seven o'clock to Moel-don and supped in company with a young clergyman just appointed to the curacy of the parish. He proved an agreeable companion and gave us some interesting (fol. 33) in- formation regarding the new regulations at Oxford. On retiring to our sleeping apartments we found them altogether the most homely I ever occupied. However as we had made up our minds not to quarrel with trivial difficulties we resigned ourselves to our lot without murmuring and sleep soon veiled all in ob- livion.
Friday, Deck. 3
We were up early this morning but it rained so fast we could not leave the house till ten. I employed the interval in copying a map of the Island on a large scale which is to be filled up as we proceed. Accom- panied by our new acquaintance we first visited Llane- dwyn^ church where he officiates for the first time next Sunday. The church yard and a great part of the parish has lately been enclosed by Lord Uxbridge's park walls and we were not a little surprized to find a (fol. 33a) porter's lodge and a locked gate on the church road.
In the church yard is a fiat stone with a Latin inscription to Rowlands the antiquarian who held this living with Llanidan for many years. We found by the date that he died in one thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven.
What is very extraordinary for the author of such a book as Mona Antiqua we were told he was never above once out of the Island in his life.
Llanedwyn church is said by this gentleman to have been originally founded by Ed wen neice or daughter to king Edwin anno domini six hundred and four though none of the present building we presume can boast of
1 Llanedwen.
B
2d
Ten days TOBB TflROtrGS
concern the Parys mine. I took a drawing of Llanidaa church and afterwards copied an inscription in the church yard bearing date 1640 the character diflfers from most others of the same period. The interior of the building has little to attract notice but Russell copied the following inscription to a Mr. Fitz Gerald who appears to have been resident at the old mansion at Bodowyr in the beginning of the last century. Some arms of a prior date let into the wall near the communion table are I believe the same as those placed over the entrance door of the house. " Here lyeth Price Fitz Gerald of Bodowir Genf son of Edmund
Fitz Gerald Gen? and Mary Price who died April xii MDCCix being lineally descended from Gerard Oge of Rathrown who was (fol. 51) descended from Mac Thomas a younger son of the Earl of Kildare in Ireland aet xxxiv. iv. m 8 r i p." The lad who had been our conductor yesterday still accompanied us and I confess I was not a little pleased with his disinter- ested attention. We took nearly the same route we had done before from Bryn Shenkin to Blochti in order to see a cromlech' called Maen Llhwyd, not having been able to procure any intelligence respecting it when here the other day.
THE ISLE OF ANGLE8EA
The cap stone and its three supporters remain still on the spot but have long since been thrown prostrate on the ground. If I remember right Mr. Rowlands speaks of it as a demolished cromlech in his time. The cap stone is nearly circular measuring about two yards
and a half in diameter and a yard in thickness. The two supporters lying near it are about two yards each in lengUi, the third we could not take the dimensions of (fol. 51a) because the cap stone had fallen over it.
From Maen Llhwj d we took the direction to Bodowyr which gave us an opportunity of seeing Tre Fwry the field in which the Roman coins were dug up.
30 TEN DATS TOrR THROCOH
Four or five circular buildings may here be traced close to the brook Briant.
I believe that most of the stones that form the wall round the field were taken from thia spot. Having taken a rough sketch of the place we proceeded on to Bodowyr. In a stubble field rather to the westward of the house we noticed some foundations of buildings covering about an acre of ground. The country people have a tradition that a large town once stood here but
[/?6>6^-
/ 'U^ii^ ^Ci^t »>M-^ c«>«i»- fc<j- I ♦''-t •*. *■
yfi*-^
No. 17. UuQ Lihwjd, d demiiliabeil Cromlech Dear Blochty.
so many of the stones have been removed to clear the ground it is impossible to form any idea respect- ing it.
Proceeding across the fields for three' miles to the north west we came to a farm house called Fron Dflg* where we had been directed to enquire for a stone (fol. 54) with an inscription now employed as a gatepost on the premises. We soon found the spot and we en- deavoured to trace the rude characters with as much
' Frondeg.
id a qnartar south-west.
THE ISLE OP ANGLBSEA
care as possible. I imagine the stone was intended for a boundary and that the ri and the letters under- neath refer to some measurement of property. The other part I think is more intelligible and thus read Mad. Filius Lluricini erexit hunc Tapidem.
No. 18. StoDe Dwr FroadAg, 5 ft {o height.
The farmer living on the spot gave a curious account of the stone having once been taken away to be employed in building a limekiln by a person in the neighbourhood but he added with great earnestness that nothing succeeded with him till he had again restored it to its place. It now forms a gate post though the gate is bung on the opposite side of the
32 TEN days' tour throuoh
way. We here separated from the good natured lad who had attended us so many miles and Boding hiiu superior to any pecuniary recompence I gave (fol. 54a) him a silk handterchief from my neck which he says he shall keep as long as he lives. Before he left us he made interest at a farm house for horses to carry us over Malltreath^ a swampy flat covered by the sea at high tides. However we passed without difficulty pushing straight forwards towards a village church
Nu. le. Llancadvaladr Church.
called Treasdreath* and passed a large stone called Maen hlr. From hence leaving Mr. Meyrick's house a large mansion to the left we made the best of our way to lilancadwaladr church about two miles distant. We had noted down this place from Mr. Rowlands on account of an ancient inscription placed there by Cad- walader last king of the Britons to commemorate Cataoianus or Catwallon his grandfather. The charac- ters are very deeply cut on a stone above four feet long forming the lintern to the doorway of the church
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA 33
and is read Catamanus Rex sapientissimus opinatis- simus omnium (fol. 58) regum. This Cadfan or Cata- manus according to Mr. Rowlands was chosen King of the Britons anno six hundred and thirteen and is said to have been buried in the Isle of Bardsey but in Sir John Wynne's pedigree we find an account of a Cadwallader of a much later date he being brother of Owen Gwynnedd stiled king of Wales. Whether this was the person who founded the church or whether it was built as Mr. Rowlands says prior to that period the Welsh
WuroWNXXirtfH
^/w/ yi. ---^
^- • .1 Cc-^
No. 21. Ancient Characters over the Doorway at Llancadwaladr
Church.
historians must determine. I only hint this because I found nothing in the structure of the building to corroborate so remote an antiquity as the chief window to the east appears to be about the time of Henry the seventh or eighth and on it is some painted glass in the characters of that age (fol. 58a). A chapel at- tached to the north side of the church was built anno sixteen hundred sixty six by dame Owen as we learnt by the following inscription over the doorway. This chapel was built by Anne Owen widdowe, daughter
c
34
TEN DATS TOUR THROUGH
and iaheretrix of Richard Williams of Llasdfilas' Esq" accordiDg to the directioQ of her deare husband Hu);h Owen Esq" sixteen hundred sixty one. Under some arms painted on the glass of the chapel was, appointed by her deare husband Hugh Owen sonne and heir of
Will Owen of Bodowen Esq" and erected by his dear wife Anne.
Under a monument erected against the east wall of the church where a knight in armour and a lady
THE ISLE OP ANGLESEA 35
are kneeling before an altar are the following curious lines containing more of loyalty than poesy (fol. 59) —
To the memory of Hugh Owen Esq" of Bodowen who died the twenty first of October sixteen hundred fifty nine.
Religion, learning, friends, poor have lost
A noble patron who maintained them at his cost
His country's patriot most firme to loyalty
And for being loyal suffered infinitely
With foes would not cologue nor his prince betray
But livde his faithful subject every day.
This monument was made by Anne his beloved wife the daughter and inheritrix of Richard Williams of Llasdiilas Esq" in memory of her deare husband sixteen hundred sixty.
Mr. Meyricke the owner of Bodowen is first repair- ing his family chapel on the opposite side. The original edifice as appears by a stone lying in the church was built by Richard Meyricke Esq"* anno sixteen hundred forty (fol. 59a) and the vault under- neath by his great grandson Owen Meyricke Esq** seventeen hundred thirty. The evening was closing in fast before we had finished our observations at Llancadwaladr.
A dreary walk of two miles over the sands to Aberffraw was rendered still more disagreeable by an incessant and heavy rain and we had no small degree of anxiety the whole of our walk lest we should be still more unfortunate in not gaining admittance at the public house as we understood that a number of Westleans with Mr. Charles at their head were to have a meeting the following day in the village. However on our arrival at the house we found a good welcome and much better quarters than we had reason to expect. After a comfortable supper of boiled rabbit we retired to rest.
c 2
TEN DATS TOUR THROUOH
(fol. 61)
SuNDAT, Deck. 5
This morning after breakfast tbe weather being tolerably fair we walked to Henblas in the parish of Llangristiolus in expectation of seeing a cromlech mentioned in our list. In our way thither we skirted a lake* about two miles in circumference and noticed large flocks of wild ducks and other acquatic birds near the shore but on our approach they swam immediately
to the middle of the water. About a mile and a half beyond we passed a large house called Trefyla* belong- ing to Mr. Evans and at Henblas another the property of his sister but at present only tenanted by a gardener who accompanied us over the fields to the object we came in search of. We here found three immense stones two of tliuiu above fifteen feet high and nearly the same in width standing upright in the ground, another of a (fol. 61n) flatter form leant against them. I cannot imagine there is anything artificial in the arrangements of these ponderous bodies but that their
' Llyn Coion.
2 Trefeilir,
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
%7
position is the one they were placed in by the hand of nature. Whether they ever were or were not employed by the Druids I do not pretend to determine. And here we may observe the word cromlech is applied by the Welsh indiscriminately to atones either natural or artificial if they are only found inclining in such a direction that there is a hollow underneath. The largest stone in the pass of LlanberJs which not many
No. 23. Cerigainwyu Chiircb.
years ago rolled from the heights above obtains the name of cromlech vawr and the same may be observed in many other instances. On returning from this spot the gardener who seemed to be an mtelligent man pointed to a rising ground to the southward about two miles ofi which he said was called (fol. 62) Ester^ mon eglwr where are still to be traced the foundations of an ancient fortress and tradition says a lofty watch tower once stood on this eminence commanding the
' Tregamedd ? three milcB to the north. " Ester mon eglwr" — should this read niaes elidr! "I Eegair maes elidr."
TEN DAYS TOUR THROUGH
circumfereDCe of the Island. From hence a causeway ran across the low ground to#ards a large carnedd wherein were discovered many human bones. Not far fr.nn hence he himself picked up a piece of silver coin which he had given to a lady in the neighbourhood.
Nu. 2i. ClcJchtj at Csregiunvi-iD Cbuwh.
As we had received intelligence of some old characters cut in the wall of Cerigainwyn* Church we walked thither and were glad to find fcomething better worthy of notice than the cromlech we had quitted for here are still visible some large Saxon characters cut very deep in the stone of the clochti or belfry. In order to • Cerrigceinwen,
THE rsLfi of ANGLESEA
39
transcribe them more perfectly I procured a ladder and mounted aloft but this (fol. 62a) enterprize was attended with no small difficulty for being obliged to employ both hands while sketching and the ladder lying very slanting I could only depend upon the toes
s^fj^
"^
No. 25. South Side of the Clocty at Caregainwen Church.
of my boots for support against the wall. Whilst thus situated there came on a violent storm of sleet and hail which so benumbed my hands I hurried the busi- ness more than I otherwise should have done but still I think I have the drawing pretty exact. These rude Saxon characters appear to be coeval with the building
TEN DATS TOCR THROUGH
No. 26. Ancient Font at Carigainwin Church.
t Carigninwin Churcli.
and probably were designed to perpetuate the name of its founder and the date of the foundation but when
THE ISLE OP ANOLESEA 41
the original edifice grew to decay they were taken out of their original order and placed just as they happened to come into use in the building the clochti so that many of the letters are lost or inverted. I think I am authorized to make this conjecture hy the (fol. 69) present appearance of the u and the s which are evidently reversed. Other letters are also wanting to make good the inscription. The font within the church is without doubt equally ancient as it retains the Runic lines and ornaments which were used among
|
/ |
Ko. 28. Ancient Font at Cttrigaiiimin Church.
the northern nations of the sixth and seventh century. Of this I made three drawings. The clerk a surly Jewish looking fellow seemed at first inclined to be very impudent, but I did not neglect to fee him for the same reason the Angel did the Miser in Pamell's beautiful poem of the Hermit namely to make him more civil and attentive to other travellers should curiosity ever lead them to this spot. The clouds now
fathering round us and everything seeming to portend ad weather we made the beat of our way to Aber- flfraw having altogether walked twelve miles.
42
TEN DAYS TOUR THROUGH
(fol. 69a) Monday, Decr. 6
We found there was so much to be seen in the neighbourhood of AberfFraw that we determined on prolonging our stay for another day at our present station. About nine attended by the same person who went with us yesterday we walked to the parish church which outwardly resembles other Welsh ouild-
No. 29. [Arch in Aberffraw Church.]
ings of the kind but on entering we observed a neat turned Saxon arch to the west end underneath the clochti an evident token that this part of the build- ing was of a more ancient date and most likely erected during the times the Saxons held the Island which was for above a century. Aberffraw afterwards became the residence of the North Welsh princes and we may suppose it was a place of the greatest consequence in the Island though now it scarcely deserves the title of a village.
THB ISLE OF ANGLESEA 43
(fol. 73) Not far from the church they point out a 6eld where the palace of Llewelyn stood but no traces remain the ground having been cleared quite to the foundation. Proceeding in a northwesterly direction for a mile and a half we came to the Httle church of Llangwyfan, This is erected on a rocky peninsula jutting out into the sea and is an Island at high water 80 that not unfrequently the congregation are inter- rupted in their devotion by the rapid approach of the
tfo. 31. Interior of Llangvyfim Church.
waves. From its exposed situation to the weather and from the spray of the sea beating against its walls the stones in parts are fretted like a honeycomb which gives it a most venerable appearance though from the shape of the windows at the east end I should not suppose it was above four centuries standing. Whilst I was sketching the font and part of the interior Russell copied a curious (fol. 73a) epitaph to the memory of Mr. Woode written about the year sixteen hundred two an age remarkable for its false wit and
44
TEN DATS TOUR THROCOH
punning indeed must have been very prevalent to
have found its way to so remote a quarter as this.
Inscribed on a brass plate let into a stone slab is
the following epitaph :
Felix ter Eelix inarmor quia nobile lignu"" Quo caret iofelix insula marmor habea Owen et patriae vivena fuit utile lignu"" Et lignu'" vitae pout sua fata Deo FiliUB ista meo posui monumenta parent! Sic precor et tecum nomeo [et] Owen idem In obitum Oweui Woode armigeri qui Obiit 6 die April A" Dni 1602 ^tat 70.
(fol. 76) In our way back we collected some beautiful specimens of sea weed and a few shells and passing by a large mansion' house the former habi- tation of this Mr. Woods but now rented of Mr. Meyricke by a farmer we walked a mile farther to M^^nnedd' Cnwc having understood there was a crom- lech to be seen there.
Mp^nnedd Cnwc is a promontory running two or
' Llangwjfan Houe& - Mynydd Cnwc.
THE ISLE OF ANOLESEA 45
three hundred yards into the sea and forming the northern boundary of a small bay called Port Tre Castel to the south of which on a semicircular rock about fifty yards over jutting into the bay we observed a deep trench and mound cut towards the land side and a square earth work of smaller dimensions a little beyond this doubtless was the work of inva- ders on their first landing. Instead of a cromlech
uf s Curnedd nt Mynydd-y-CnT
at Mynnedd Cnwc we found the vestiges of a large carnedd many of the flat stones of the cist faen or chamber are still remaining but the small ones have been almost all removed to build a wall close at hand (fol. 77a). On another fork of the peninsula about an hundred yards distant we observed the traces of another carnedd of much smaller dimensions. From the nature of their situation, the bay, the earth work &c. it is not improbable to suppose that an engagement here took place with the natives wherein some principal officers
46
TEN DATS TOUR THROCQH
were stain and interred on the spot. A natural cavern ID the rock penetrates for some distance ia the penin- sala hut it being high tide we could not satisfy our curiosity in examining it. The country people have a strange idea of spirits haunting these carnedds and frequently see lights (Ignis fatuu^) hovering round the point. They moreover report that an iron boot was dug up not long ago full of money but on farther enquiry the money vanished and so did the boot too.
No, 31. Cner Cromteoli iu Uie PHriah of Llaofnelog.
By the description of a man who had seen it I believe it was no other than a gambado belonging to Mr. Woode or some of his descendants
(fol. 80) Hence continuing our walk to the north- ward we passed through the parish of Llanfeelog and about half a mile beyond the church came to a very perfect cromlech.' The cap stone is rather of an oblong shape and measured sixteen feet long, six wide, and three thick. It only rested upon three supporters each about three feet high although there were four 1 At Ty Newydd.
THE ISLE OF ANQLESEA
47-
placed in the ground. Near the cromlech were lying two large stones, the one seventeen feet long and three thick. Having made two drawings on the spot we^ were invited by a country woman to take some refresh- ment at her house, and whilst she went forward to prepare for our reception we walked about half a mile further towards the river CrighilP to see another cromlech.^ This stood on low ground quite in a swamp the cap stone like that at Maen LIhwyd has been
No. 36. DemoliBhed Cn.mlech nenr the Rivsr Crighf II,
thrown down and its supporters lie near it. Also many other atones from three to five feet long to the number of thirty lie (fol. 80a) scattered in all directions around it. Having; hastily sketched this remain we followed the direction of a person who persuaded us there were some verj'^ ancient letters on a stone placed in a wall about an hundred yards distant. Above a quarter of an hour was employed to no purpose in the search. At length assisted by some men who came
1 CrigyH.
« At Pentraeth.
48 TEN days' tour through
from a neighbouring field whose zeal in the business was augmented by the promise of a shilling we discovered the valuable antique which had been em- ployed as a land mark and traced the letters o. w. one thousand six hundred and sixty four very legibly on the surface.
How many hundreds would have laughed at the distress of the young antiquarians on this occasion but as the more learned of that venerable society are continually exposed to similar or greater mistakes we must find shelter from the shafts of ridicule under the shade of (fol. 82) their protecting wings. At the farm house we found some white bread and cheese and butter milk placed on a clean cloth waiting our arrival and returning many thanks to our kind entertainer who was as pretty as she was obliging we took our leave and proceeded towards a barn in the neighbour- hood where with the assistance of a lanthorn I traced the characters nalis deeply cut in a stone now serving as the lintern to a small window but said to have been taken from a field near the spot. I think these characters are Roman as the style of the l cut obliquely much resembles what I have noticed on some inscriptions in the north of England made a short time before the Romans quitted the island. Returned to Aberffraw across a large warren appar- ently well stocked with rabbits. They are sold in these parts for fourpence apiece, fowls are also equally cheap, so that with the assistance of fish the inhabit- ants can fare very luxuriantly without butcher s meat. A farmer overtook (fol. 82a) and accompanied us to Aberffraw. In the course of conversation he said it was this day seventeen years being the Carnarvon fair on which the passage boat was lost and eighty people perished in the Menai most of whom were inhabitants of the island by which sad catastrophy nearly every family bad to lament the loss of some relative.
In the evening we received a visit from Mr. Row- lands curate of Aberfiraw, on enquiring of him what
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA 49
was become of the various coins which bad been dug up in these parts of the island he said that most of them had been taken to Mr. Meyricke who he was sure would be very happy in shewing them to us, but we were so apprehensire of being detained by the weather at this time of the year that we could not venture to spend the following day at Aberflfraw though the civility and attention we experienced from our hostess would have been a strong inducement at a more favourable season.
(fol. 83) Tuesday, Decr. 7
Having paid a very reasonable bill at Aberffraw we quitted it this morning about ten and pursued the same track we had done yesterday for about three miles when crossing the Crighyll and traversing a bleak heath rendered still more unpleasant by heavy storms of wind and rain we arrived at Llanfihangle yn nhewlyn^ expecting to find some ancient remains in this parish. We only saw some large loose stones upon the summit of the rocks which seem to have little claim to the interference of the Druids to place them in their present position. On enquiring at a cottage near this spot whether there were any carnedds or chromlechs to be seen we exposed ourselves to the ridicule of two old women who enjoyed a hearty laugh at our walking in the rain to hunt after stones.
Skirting two large pools of water we pursued our way to Bodedern situated on the turnpike road about eight miles from Holyhead. This place did not prepossess us much in its favour as it seemed to promise but sorry accommodations (fol. 83a). However we were obliged to put up with them unless we made up our minds to reach Holyhead which would have thrown us nearly a day backward in our march. Having ordered the best the house could afford for dinner we walked nearly a
* [Nhewyn.
D
50
TEN DATS TOUR THROUGH
mile along the turnpike road in the direction of Gwindy' when turning oflF into a field to the left we approached one of the finest and most finished crom- lechs' we have yet seen in the island the cap stone measuring four yards and a half long four yards wide and two yards thick* its three supporters each about a yard and a half high. Indeed there is a fourth nearly of the same height hut it does not touch the stone above. Under this cromlech we were informed
No. 37. Praewddfed Cromleche.
a whole family who had been ejected from their habitation sought shelter during the last winter. There was another cromlech close at hand but the cap stone had been forced down and rests in a slanting direction against the supporters the top stone of this measured three yards long and two yards and (fol. 87) a half wide and its supporters nearly two yards high. An old mansion near the spot was we understand the residence of Miss Buckley the lady who married King J Qwyndy, = At Preiaddtedd. ' Feetl
THE ISLE OF AKGLEREA 51
master of the ceremonies at Bath. The premises seem to be very much out of repair having been untenanted for some time. Returned about four to our homely dinner of bacon and greens. Id the evening after retracing my sketches I took a copy of a plan that was in the room of the intended bridge over the Menai. This if it ever is put into execution will be a stupendous work as it will be nearly half a mile long and built pretty strong to resist the tides. On the twenty-ninth
No. 39. Piuuddfed Cromleclie.
of April 1785 a meeting was first held for the purpose of consulting about it at St. Alban's tavern when the following resolutions passed : first, that the erecting a carriage bridge over the streights of the Menai will be of great public utility — second — that it appears from the reports and concurrent opinions of several able engineers that the erecting a timber bridge upon piles with three swivel bridges will not be detrimental (fol. 87a) to the navigation of the said streights and therefore we approve of a bridge being erected on
D 2
52 TEN days' tour through
that plan, third, that we will support the application made to parliament for an act for building a bridge across the said streights agreeable to the above plan. N. Bailey, chairman. Afterwards follow the signature of the noblemen and gentlemen. Here we see the first intention was to have constructed one of wood with three swivel bridges for the convenience of vessels passing to and fro. Now according to the present plan it is to be of stone with three center arches sufficiently wide and high to permit a ship to pass with all her sails set. God knows whether this plan will ever be brought to perfection but in this mechani- cal age we can scarcely wonder at the projection of any enterprize however vast or difficult. If we were not pleased with our fare much less were we with our sleeping apartments at this place the upper story was (fol. 89) without ceilings running clear up to the roof being divided into stalls rather than chambers by deal boards wherein are placed the different beds for the family and strangers We slept in separate beds it is true, but every word that was said, nor ought that was done could pass unheard for all was as manifest to the ear at least as though we had been in the same dormontory. I was unfortunately situated, in having some snorers close to my bed head, and the deal not being above half an inch thick I may literally say they were close at my ear. Different kinds of music re- sounded from different parts of the room, I bore all this harmonious combination of sounds with the philosophy of a stoic till the clock struck three, when my next neighbour played so violently on the double bass I lost all patience and began knocking with equal violence on the partition between us. This not only awoke him but every part of the house was soon in motion and the host got up grumbling and swearing and called the people about him to go and (fol. 89a) see who it was who knocked at the door for they imagined it was some traveller who wished to gain admittance. In the course of an hour when the tumult
THE ISLE OP ANGLESEA 5^
was subsided I dropped asleep and was roused by our guide whom I had ordered to call me at half past six.
Wednesday, Decr. 8
We were not sorry to leave this place as soon as it was light paying much higher for our miserable enter- tainment than we had done at any place in the island. First directed our steps along the turnpike to Llan- drAgan\ situated near Gwindy the halfway house between Beaumaris and Holyhead our host having given us to understand there was a very ancient stone near the church which many travellers went to look at but few could read the inscription. He himself among the rest although he said he was a good schoUar having been clerk of Bodedern many years could (fol. 90) make nothing of it. On arriving at the spot we found a flat tomb stone to the right of the ' entrance door bearing the following lines legibly cut on its surface :
Reader in me doe thou thyself behold Wilome full hie but now full low in mould Bodychens hejr I was my name was John The second who that simame fixt upon Credit nor wealth nor friends I did not lacke Heare dead and dust loe all doe roe forsake The day draws on when God me hence shall raise Amongst his chosen his great name to praise.
On the side nearest the church door :
Obiit apud Bodechen decimo die Junii incamationis milessimo sexto centessimo tricessimo nono aetatis suae septuagesimo.
On the opposite side :
Moestissima uxor Margaretta monumentum hoc delectessimo conjugl piae memoriae amoris ergo posuit vicessimo die M&rtii anno milessimo sexgentessimo quadragessimo.
Though we copied the inscription being on the spot
^ Llandrygarn.
04 TEN DAYS* TOUR THROUGH
we did not think it deserving a digression of three miles to read especially as we had so much to perform before night.
Hence we hastened forward to Llantrisant not without some apprehension in being equally deceived in an ancient inscription we learnt was to be seen there cut on the stone^ of a gateway. On enquiring at a farm house we found it had been taken up from the gate and placed in a kind of shed as a block to chop sticks on. This intelligence conveyed through our interpreter did not quiet our fears for the fate of the inscription, however towards the place we went and fortunately found the stone lying with the inscription downwards (fol. 92). On the edge was engraved Aroe lapidibus in the manner I have shewn in ray sketch. Having with the assistance of four stout fellows turned the stone I traced as nearly as I could the characters as they appear in my drawing. The stone was of a lozenge form about six feet high and three wide, and I conjecture was first of all employed by the Romans as a direction across the country, as the words Aroe lapidibus to the stones of Aroe seem to imply. The second inscription was probably cut some centuries after in monkish times as appears by the words moribus disciplinae et sapientiae coming together in the conclusion of the sentence. Indeed many of the upright pillars we have met with in the island I imagine were intended as directions or boundaries and not at all connected with druidical worship as Mr. Rowlands seems to suppose. The day by this time being far advanced we exerted ourselves as much as the country would (fol. 92a) allow to gain Llanbabo church four miles distant in sufficient time to copy an ancient stone dug up here in the reign of Charles the second bearing the effigies of Pabo post Prid or Prince Pabo the support of Britain who nourished about the year four hundred sixty and who is said to have
^ Now at Trescawen.
ssr
N 1/ R I
NROt
NAT IS •VUJIV
. A I c r
'■'- ECV5\
(PAR
■^"/^fl SUnx. M. tk^-rUeuU Thaui,
56 TEN days' tour through
built and to have been buried in this church. His effigies are designed on a flat stone resembling free stone, the figure crowned with a sceptre in its right hand and a close garment down to its feet. On the edge of the stone these characters are cut hie jacet Pabo post Prid the remainder is very much defaced but I should read it qui edificavit banc ecclesiam.
For my own part I cannot but think that the whole of this is some ages later than Pabo's time as both the sculpture and the formation of the letters are those of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. We know that in Koman catholic countries it is very common for the priests to preserve (fol. 95) the effigies of their founders and benefactors in their churches and monas- teries and might not this have been presented to the church by some rich family in the. neighbourhood by way of acquiring the favour of the sainted patron. The letters here noticed very much resemble those I have copied from the monument in Bettws y Coed church in Carnarvonshire. I took as perfect a drawing as my time would allow and afterwards just sketched the entrance door and three uncooth and at present white- washed visages let into the stone above and on each side of it. These are of such rude workmanship that I should rather attribute them to the time of Pabo than the subject we have just considered. A kind of waving line over the arch of the door as described in my sketch is I conjecture no less antique. The church itself differs in no other respect from the generality of Welsh buildings, and the parish is so scattered that not above two houses are to be seen in any direction.
From hence to Llanfechell we experienced a dirty swampy and fatiguing walk (fol. 95a) of four miles and the termination of it was rendered still more unfortunate as we found the public house so indifferent we could not think of spending the night there accordingly we hastened by the light of the moon to examine some stones and a cromlech about half a mile beyond leaving our interpreter who seemed to be
TH6 IsLE OP ANOLESfiA 57
pretty well tired of antique hunting to eat his diuner, in the interim the host of the public house officiating in his stead. Under his guidance we first visited three upright stones standing on a rising ground placed three paces asunder forming an exact triangle. They were about seven feet high and two feet and a half wide. These I make no doubt were intended as a direction to travellers as they might be seen from every rising hillock in the neighbourhood and also
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No. 45, Stuues in LlonfeLhell Pansh
from the coast, we could not learn that they were called by any particular name if it had sounded any- thing like aroe it would have thrown some light upon the inscription in Llantrisant parish.
From hence passing by an old (fol. 98) mansion named cromlech now tenanted by a farmer we came to the spot where many large stones were lying scattered promiscuously on the ground and one nearly square measuring nine feet across leaning against some up- rights about six feet high. From the appearance of this place I should rather imagine that it had been
58 TEN DATS TOtTR THROUGH
the interior or cistfaen of a camedd and this opinion seems somewhat confirmed by the acconnts of the common people who remember great quantities of stone having been removed to form a wall. Returning to the public house we made a meal on bread and cheese and afterwards procuring the key of the church we examined its interior. The font is square having a double Saxon arch rudely carved on each face.
Font, Lkafechell Church.
Over the communion table is a Latin inscription to Mr. Humphreys Rector of the parish which we tran- scribed :
Cinenbus sacrum H. S. E.
(fol. 98a) ROBERTUB HUHPBBKTB M.A.
vir eruditus perqnam et modestus
Rei medicae
praeBertim botanicae apprime gnarus
Fraxiqae claniit
hi^UB eccl«siae per tria et amplius lustra
THE tSLE 0** ANGLESEA 59
Extitit Rector obiit XIII id Junii anno hdogix ^tatis suae lyiii
Dnus dnus Ricardus Nicom. Bulkeley pro digno qui haberet defuncto hoc positum voluit
A long five miles walk brought us to Amlwch where with some little difficulty (the hostess not admiring our pedestrian appearance^ we gained admit- tance, a good supper and comfortable sleeping appart- ments which indeed were not a little refreshing after (fol. 101) the labours of the day and the adventures of the preceeding night.
Thursday, Decr. 9
Amlwch is a long straggling place and may contain from four to five thousand inhabitants though before the working of the Parys mines there were not an hundred tenements in the parish. Besides two or three good houses a church has been lately erected by the copper company on a neat substantial plan and a quay formed near the smelting houses where ships of two or three hundred tons burthen may take in their lading. These we passed in our way to Llanelian church this morning which we had been directed to examine as one of the most curious structures in the island. This church differs from most others in North Wales in having a kind of spire rising from a square tower. I cannot say that this edition is very elegant it being coated all the way up with small slate. The body of the church is ornamented with battlements, pinnacles, and (fol. 101a) buttresses in the style of our parish churches built about the time of Henry the seventh. Having procured the key we found the interior still retaining its catholic collection of saints and apostles, and the seats, chancel, and communion- table, were decorated with a profusion of carving in oak. On the latter on a kind of scroll we read non nobis Domine non nobis sed nomine tuo. Beneath the arches
60
TEN DATS TOUR THROtOH
which supported the Toof of the building were six grotesque little figures, playing on the bagpipe, pibcorn, and other instruments, their appearance is rendered stiil more ridiculous by their being painted in black coats, yellow waistcoats, and white wigs. In a small chapel attached to the south east end of the church (which is said to have been the original edifice founded by Saint Elian) there is a kind of semicircular chest or cabinet made of oak into which whoever can enter and
tfu. 4$. LlitDelian Church.
turn himself round is sure in the opinion of the vulgar to live out the year but if he fails it will (fol. 102) prove fatal to him. People from all parts come at stated periods to try their destiny in this absurd way. There is also an old chest well secured by bolts bars and nails in another part of the church having a small slit in the Hd through which the country people are said to drop a piece of money uttering their maledic- tions against their enemies the black gentleman is thus feed to work evil against the offender, this
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA 61
uncharitable and unchristian custom if true seems almost too bad even for monkish times much worse to be continued now. Having viewed these relics of superstition we ascended by a circular tower to the roof [of] the church which is very nicely leaded. On enquiring afterwards of a Welsh clergyman why Llanelian was so much better taken care of than other parish churches I found that some lands had been appropriated by one of the Welsh princes centuries ago by way of expiation for his sins to keep it in constant repair, this accounts for its having a steeple, being leaded, &c. &c.
After sketching the building we returned (fol. 102a) to Amlwch, on our way thither obtained a very clear view of the Isle of Man lying only sixteen leagues to the north of this coast. Could we have insured a week's fine weather we should not have hesitated an instant including that island in our circuit as I have long wished to satisfy myself respecting some ancient inscriptions at Pielstown. I understand there is almost daily communication through the herring boats which come here to dispose of their cargoes. Having taken a slight repast at Amlwch we proceeded to the Parys mountain which of late years has enriched not only many individuals but the nation at large. It lies about a mile south of the town and though denomina- ted a mountain, in Carnarvonshire at least would be deemed a very inconsiderable hillock. The approach to it is dreary in the extreme for the sulphurious steams issuing from the copper kilns have destroyed every germ ot vegetation in the neighbourhood. When we had gained (fol. 103) the higher ground the unin- teresting and gloomy prospect we had hitherto observed was at once converted into the most lively and active scene. Hundreds of men, women, and children, ap- peared busily occupied in the different branches of this vast concern and the bustle of the metropolis prevailed amidst the dreary recesses of the Druids. The produce of the mountain belongs to two different companies
62 TEN days' tour through
one called the Parys Mine shared between Lord Uxbridge, Mr. Hughes, and Mr. Williams. The other, the Mona mine I believe is Lord Uxbridge's alone.
Our servant having delivered a message from the people of the inn to one of the overseers of the Parys mine, he accompanied us over the works. A stranger not acquainted with mining concerns cannot do better than take his first lesson at this place. There being no necessity of descending into subterrianean abodes to grope out for information by candle light, incommo- ded by damp, dirt, and foul vapours, for all is here worked open to the day and by taking his station in one (fol. 103a) point he can command a view of the whole proceedings from the beginning to the end and receive every satisfactory explanation almost without moving from the spot. We first were conducted to some wooden stages erected on the edge of the bason if I may so employ that term to an immense excava- tion of an oval form about two hundred yards long, half so much in width and eighty in depth which has been hollowed out in the course of twenty years, these wooden stages are each supplied with a windlass for the purpose of drawing up the ore from the bottom. On looking down from hence to the chasm beneath, we saw the rock rich with ore of a light gold colour which the miners were busily employed in boring, blasting, breaking with sledge hammers, wheeling the fragments to appointed places beneath the stages fillin| the baskets which were hauled up as before mentione( by the windlass. There might be from twelve to fourteen stages erected for this purpose in different (fol. 104) parts of the mine.
As soon as the commodity is landed it is delivered to a number of women and children to be broken into smaller pieces. The good ore is then separated from that of an inferior sort and carried to kilns to be baked. The sulphur forms in what is called flour brimstone by the chymists on the top of the oven.
THE ISLE OP ANGLESEA 63
This is afterwards collected, melted in large cauldrons and formed into round moulds for sale.
We understood that the better kind of ore was sent to Neath and other places, and the inferior to the smelting houses at Amlwch. In walking round the premises we crossed a small stream running into some square reservoirs, this water was so impregnated with copper that merely the dipping a key in for two or three seconds rendered it entirely the colour of that metal. The square reservoirs above mentioned was stored with all the old iron that could be collected which are turned monthly the coperas on them sinking in a kind (fol. 104a) of red slime to the bottom.
At stated times the pits are emptied and the produce when hardened becomes equally valuable to the richest ore in the mines. We may be sure that every drop of this precious stream is turned to the best account possible indeed so productive is it that they compute it to be worth above three halfpence a quart. On entering the compting house one of the clerks sitting there obligingly gratified us with the sight of a number of drawers full of the most beautiful specimens of minerals I ever saw and moreover requested us to take our choice of what we most admired. We were con- strained to be very moderate on account of the weight of the article but if we could have procured a ready carriage I fancy we should have been rather more greedy in our selection. At it was we took nearly five pounds' weight of the following minerals and mixtures (fol. 105) :
First. Mundig containing sulphur and iron.
2. Iron incrusted with lead chrystals.
3. Copper ore.
4. Copper ore after roasting.
5. Copper taken from the reservoir of old iron.
6. Quartz containing copper ore.
7. Zink commonly called black Jack incorporated with copper
rock holding a small quantity of lead.
8. Quartz with a little of the Zink and chrystals.
64 TEN days' tour through
9. Pure copper.
10. Blue stone issuing from the copper rocks.
11. Sulphur.
12. Copper coming from the old iron after it is dried.
Hence we just looked into the assay house but could not see the process the man having concluded work we also viewed the kilns and the coppers where the sulphur is melted. Having taken a very competent survey and complimented our obliging and intelligent conductor for his trouble in the best manner we were able, we took a long walk for nearly five miles to the west of Parys mountain towards Llanfechell where we heard there was (fol. 105a) a prodigious large stone with writing under it to be seen. Our conductor who was a young man of Amlwch speaking pretty good English entertained us the whole way by a variety of ^host stories and preternatural events the common talk of tne neighbourhood. The stone we were going to see was so big that it would sink the largest ship that came to Amlwch. That it stood in a valley by itself resting on a flat stone whereon a good many characters were engraved but nobody was able to make them out but should some learned person have that good fortune the stone would immediately move off of itself and there would be a pot of gold to reward him for his schoUarship. That a countryman living hard by had seen the treasure three following nights in his dreams and had spent some time in digging for it but all to no purpose for it was not intended for him. On telling our guide he should equally (fol. 107) share whatever we discovered it quickened our march astonishingly and I really believe we were not above an hour in reaching the stone notwithstanding the many impediments which crossed our way. On which we passed an upright stone about seven feet high in the middle of a field resembling some of those we before noticed as boundaries. Here exclaimed Sancho a man also found a considerable treasure, although amused by his simplicity it in some measure weakened
THE ISLE OF ANGLK3EA 65
the interest we had taken in the object of our walk and we felt the less disappointed at finding we had taken our ramble in vain when we arrived at the spot.. For a candle being procured at the treasure dreamer's cottage we discovered that what they took for letters- were nothing but a few natural crevices in the rock and that the stone itself though of some magnitude possessed no more claim to notice than any other detached fragment lying by the road side, (fol 107a).
Xo. 48, Ffedoged-y- Qowrea.
However disappointed we concealed our chagrin and even suffered our conductor to take us half a mile out of the way to see an immense stone which he said was called Praes Maen on account of a brass pot being placed near it and that when the sun shone whoever could trace the shadow at a particular time of the day would discover a great treasure in a brass vessel. It was moonlight when we arrived at this stone which certainly is more worthy of notice than the one we had quitted. It is standing upright in the midst of a field and measures thirteen feet high and fourteen and
66 TEN DATS* TOUR THROUaH
fifteen in circumference allowing four or five feet under ground, it must have been a very heavy body and cost some trouble to have erected it in its present position. Approaching nearer to Amlwch we observed our quondam loquacious compation become very silent, and just as we had passed an old wall about half a mile (fol. 108) from the town he told us with evident marks of trepidation that there was a ghost sitting there every night, on asking him if he had ever seen it he said no but that many of his friends had, it was in the shape of a woman and once had attempted to pull a farmer's wife off her horse but was prevented by the arrival of a second person when it vanished. That on Christmas Eve the inhabitants of Amlwch used to come to the spot in order to see how many lights would pass by and as many did so many persons as travelled that road would die within the twelve- month.
I just mention these ridiculous stories to show that superstition still reigns here and this superstition has perhaps been the guardian to many of the druidical remains we noticed in the island. It was past six when we returned to the inn where we were welcomed by a most excellent repast.
Friday, Decr. 10
We could not leave the inn so soon as we intended on account (fol. 108a) of our boots not being ready so bad is the workmanship of the shoemakers in Wales that the repairs of one day were destroyed by the exertions of the next, and it was a business almost as regular as eating our dinner when we arrived at the inn to send our boots to get mended. Here I hope we have had them secured effectually as we ordered them to be studded with nails according to the fashion of the country. Although on our arrival we scarcely gained admittance at the inn as pedestrians yet on our
THE ISLE OF ANGLESBA 67
departure we had to pay the bill calculated for eques-^ trians of the first order so much had our consequence been raised by the loquacity of our attendant in the kitchen.
This heavy blow on our finances with the loss we had sustained at Llanfechell caused a calculation to be made which promised only three days' supply sup- posing our concerns should fall into the hands of so experienced a scribe as the landlady at Amlwch (ful. 109). About eleven we were clear of the inn and took the road across the fields to the small church of Bodewryd where we understood were some remains of the Wynne family a branch of which family was settled at a large maflsion now a farm near the spot. The church door being open we found the interior occupied by a grey headed pedagogue and his schoUars. On the pulpit were carved the arms of the Wynne's and the seats and communion table exhibited the same kind of ornaments cut in oak before noticed at Llanelian. This living was augmented by Queen Anne's bounty and further donations as appears en- graven on a brass tablet affixed to the north side of the altar :
M.S.
Annae Reginae serenissimae cujus moniiicentia sine exemplo maximae inter innumeras alias per magnam (fol. 109a) Britanniam late sparsas
Tenuissima haec de Bcniewryd ecclesia cujus stipendium annuum xx solidos ante non exedebat
libris ducentis donata est
promovente interim pietatem banc
et totidem libras de proprio conferente
per ultimum testamentum suum
Dat. 6*° Septembris A.D. 1720
Roberto Wynne A.M. rectori de Llantrisant
Filio Jobftnnis Wynne de Bodewryd Arm.
Sexto et natu maximo
quibus pecuniis aliquantulum auctis
Tenementa sequentia coempta
et in usum ecclesiae prsedictae
In perpetuum stabilita sunt
82
68 TEN DAYS* TOUR THROUGH
<fol. 110) 111° Nonas Decembris 1723
viz, Tre Evan, Clidog, Hen Aclwyd &c. &c. Reditusque annuus 40 solidorum De Tre Anghared in Bodedern Oom. Anglesea.
In tantae mnnificentiae memoriam Tabula haec votiva suspensa est. anno 1727.
On the opposite side of the communion table on a similar tablet is engraved the pedigree of this branch of the Wynne's which is as follows :
In hac Ecclesia jacent
1. Rees (ap Lie well wyn, ap Griffith, ap Howell, ap Evan, ap
Ednyfed ap Howell, ap Griffith, ap Meyricke, ap Trahaira, ap Gwerydd ap Rees Goch) uxorem habuit Agnes vch Nicholas ap Ellis Archidiaconi Monensis filiam obiit anno Dni 1 500.
(foL 110a)
2. David ap Rees de Bodewryd Armiger obiit 27° Julii anno Dni
1551 uxorem habuit Anghared filiam et heredem de Plas y Brian in parochia de Llanbeder.
3. Hugo Gwyn ap D.D. obiit 1562 uxorem habuit Elenam Con-
way de Bryn Eyrinin Com. Carnaru.
4. Edwardus ap H Gwyn sepultus fuit primo die Martii 1596
uxorem duxit Elizabetham Sion ap Rees Bodjchen.
5. Johannes Wyn Edd obiit 1614 uxorem habuit Grace vch Sion
Griffith de Llanddyfran.
6. Edwardus Wyn obiit 1637 uxorem habuit Margaretam Pule-
ston de Llwyn y Knottie in com. Flint.
7. Johannes Wyn obiit Jan. 30, 1669 uxorem duxit, Elenam
filiam et cohaeredem J. Lewis de Ohwaen Wen arm sepultus est cum auxore filioque natu max i mo Johanne L L B in ecclesiae parochiali de Llantrissant de quo siquis (fol. ill) ultra desideret monumentum patri suo B — M positum im- pensis Roberto Wyn A.M. ejusdem ecclesiae Rectoris dig- nissimi consulat.
Having finished our observations and preparing to leave the church we were not a little surprized by a request made by the schoolmaster for something to drink our healths, though I complied with his request I at the same time conveyed a kind of hint that an instructor should not be mercinary. Howe7er he pocketed the reproof with the money and I cannot say I discerned anything of that hectic flush come across
THBl ISLE 6P ANGLfiSEA 69
his cheek described by Sterne in his story of the poor Monk.
Continuing from hence and passing by the magic stone which had drawn us so much out of our way the preceeding night we called at the treasure dreamer's cottage as he had promised to shew us an inscription which (fol. Ilia) he knew to be wortiiy of notice as a clergyman of Llanerchy medd had been to copy it. He was from home but his wife catching up her half grown child in her arms walked before us at such a rate we could scarcely keep up with her to the field where it stood. We here found some characters and just as I was preparing to take the impression of them with putty so violent and cold a storm of sleet and rain came on that we were forced to take shelter at a neighbouring farm. The farm house though of con- siderable extent was open all the way up to the roof the beds, kitchen, dairy, &c. being all contiguous to each other. This we found on enquiry was the common custom of the country. The weather holding up a little we returned to the spot, in the interviu having learnt that the stone had some time since been broken in two in order to make a gate post of the lower part, we procured an (fol. 113) iron crow and with the assistance of two stout lads from the farm turned it over, it measures about four feet in length but retams no appearance of characters on its surface though by measuring its width we clearly discovered that it must formerly have been united to the upper part which is now fixed in the ground about an hundred yards distant. On returning thither I took a very exact copy. The name of the stone is Maen Hir Llanol with is interpreted the large stone with letters and when entire it must have been a conspicuous object from most parts of the island as it stands on very high ground.
The weather continuing cold and disagreeable we hastened our march to Llanerchymedd our intended station for the night. Although the distance to this
70
Ten DATS TOUR THROtfGfl
place io a direct Hne is not above four miles and its situation clearly discerned from Maen Hir Llanol yet on account of the bogs and (fol. llSct) over- flowing of tbe river we were obliged to make a circuit of nearly twice that space round by Llanbabo. In our
way passed a farm called Boddeiniol where we stopped to enquire for some druidical remains mentioned in Mr. Bingley's list as still visible, but the farmer who is apparently near eighty years old said he had never had heard of anything of the kind since he had lived there. But some time back in cleaning a piece of rough
tHE ISLE OF ANGLkSBA 71
ground in one of his fields he discovered four burying places as he took them to be the sides formed of flat stones set upright in the ground and covered by others of the same irregular shape. Some of the stones he shewed us lying against a fence but none of them appeared to be above two feet and a half high. Crossed the river Trepont^ a little below Llanbabo. This river is styled the largest in Anglesea although I am sure one might easily leap over the widest part the channel (fol. 114) when not flooded being not above twelve or lourteen feet across. Arrived at Llanerchymedd a little before four, enquiring of the innkeeper for an ancient stone with an inscription near the town he accompanied us to the house of a clergyman who he said was very curious in these particulars and would furnish us with every information on the subject. Our reception was very pleasing but we had been misin- formed in regard V the olject of our enquiries there being no other antiques in the neighbourhood besides Maen Hir Llanol and the stone at Llantrisant about four miles distant. In the evening Mr. Richards the above mentioned gentlemen called upon us at the inn and during our conversation gave some interesting particulars of druidical remains in Bodafon mountain which we purpose visiting in his company tomorrow. This gentleman had a very perfect coin of Diocletian of which I took an impression in sealing wax (fol. 1 1 4a) in order to make a fac simile of the coin in isinglass on my return — if we cannot procure originals we must be content with copies. Having noted down the occur- rences of the day we retired to bed desiring to be called very early in order to get breakfast over by seven the time we had agreed to set out.
1 Alaw]
TEN DATS TOUR THROUGH
Satcrdat, Dbcr. 11
A little before seven called at Mr. Richards's house whom we found waiting at the door ready to accom- pany us. He mounted his horse and we pursued the Beaumaris turnpike for hair a mile when we turned to the left to look at a stone called Lleidr^ y Frydog or the thief stone. This is a rough stone about six feet high having a kind of hump or projection near the top.
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I. 50. [Thief Stons.]
The country people report that a thief who had stolen somo books from a neighbouring church was in this ^lace turned into stone with the sack containing his theft laying over his shoulder. About a quarter of a mile further Mr. Richards pointed to the spot where formerly stood the nunnery of Clorach or St. Claire and not far from it by the road side we saw two wells whose waters were enclosed in a square reservoir of stone work. Tradition says that the two saints Seriol 1 Two miles. ' C(U-«g Lleidr.
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
n
and Cybi (the former having a cell at Priestholme the latter at Holyhead where he founded a collegiate church) used to hold their weekly meetings at these springs to consult on religious matters, and from the ci/cumstance of Seriol's travelling westward in the morning and eastward in the evening, and Cybi on the contrary always facing the sun they were denominated
Seriol wyn a Chyby felyn. Seriol the fair and Cybi the tawney.
When arrived at Bodafon hills a ridge of rocky ground (fol. 117a) extending nearly two miles east
No. 50a. Cromlech ou Bodafon MountaiD.
and west Mr. Richards gave his horse to our attendant and accompanied us to a cromlech lying at the side of the hill denominated cromlech Lldercoch^ nearly square the upper stone being about eleven feet across sup- ported by four or five SQjall uprights not above a foot and a half from the surface. This is by no means so perfect as some we have before noticed. Had not Mr. Richards been positive of the fact I should have doubted whether it had been designed for one. Ar- rived nearly at the summit of the hill we entered a cottage inhabited by a countryman whose grand-
1 Can this be meant for Lleidrgoch or Llechgoch ? Possibly it should be Llidach as a chapel of this name used to stand close to the spot. — Cambrian Register, ii, 288.
74 TEN DATS* TOUR THROUGH
father and great grandfather resided there before him. Under the direction of this person we climbed to the top of the hill to look at a Carnedd. Most of the loose stones have been removed but some of the flat ones which composed the cistfaen are still on the spot, another more perfect lies about an hundred (fol. 118) yards to the eastward of this, a third further beyona which we did not visit. In the course of our walk the cuuntryman pointed to a spot where he said his grand-
h»^
^ yti.^
No. 51. Bodafon Hills.
mother whilst tending the cattle found a large trian- gular^ piece of gold as he called it, standing on three supporters weighing nearly forty pounds. The antique overgrown with heath but one of the beasts hap-
^ The exact spot where the " triangular piece of gold" was found is not clearly indicated. Apparently it was on the North-West side of the mountain. Mr. Skinner, however, in his sketch, sho^ws it on the South-East side.
Probably the sketches were worked up in the evening from memory, which may account for the errors which appear in some of them.
THfi ISLE Ot* ANGLfiSfiA
75
pening to tread upon it occasioned the discovery. This she sold for three shillings at Llanerchymedd.
I should rather conceive that the metal was brass but whatever it was it would have been of more con- siderable value in the eyes of the antiquarian. Not far from this place he pointed to a number of loose stones called by a Welsh word answering to gold tongues^ as many pieces of gold of that shape he said were formerly picked up here. From the formation
No. 52. South of Bodafou Hill with a British Town.
here specified I think one may not hesitate a moment in pronouncing they were brass celts or British weapons and as a farther (foL 118a) confirmation of this opinion not a great way distant facing the south we traced the remains of a large British^ town.
^ The position where these " gold tongues " stood was probably on the North-West side of the mountain though shown by Mr. Skinner on the South-East.
2 This town was Tre Beirdd on the North-West side of the mountain, incorrectly indicated on the South-East side on Mr. Skinner's ground plan.
76 TEN DATS* TOUR THROUGH
Here about forty or fifty foundations such as we have before noticed at Tre Evan may be clearly discerned some lying in a cluster together others standing separate, others again having a square form the name given to these remains scattered over the island we were informed by our intelligent companion by Cyteau^ Gwydellhod not Irishmens huts as some have tran- slated it but the houses of the wild inhabitants. A spring rising near the spot still has a term of the same signitication being stiled the well of the wild inhabit- ants. Some vestiges of similar^ buildings are to be traced to the north side of the hill, as also on the rising ground facing that part of Bodafon we have just noticed. It is natural to suppose that when the island was covered with wood, the inhabitants would fix their residence on elevated stations as a security (fol. 120) against their enemies and beasts of prey we may suppose the lower parts of these huts were alone built of stone and that branches of trees and earth formed the covering like those at present used amongst the lowest orders of Irish peasantry and why may not this people have retained the mode observed bj^ the ancient Britons from whence they derive their origin. The highest point of Bodafon hills lies to the east commanding almost the whole circuit of the island. Here a beacon used to be lighted in case of invasion or to convey signals to the opposite coast of Carnar- vonshire although probably it is many years since anything of the kind was used, yet the stones and the earth bear evident marks of the fire. It blew so hard to day that it was with difficulty we kept on our legs on the high ground but on descending we were sheltered from the wind and had a pleasant walk to Penhros LlAgwy church an ancient building abuut half a mile to the south east of Bodafon hills. On a (fol. 120a) rough flat stone in the churchyard I traced
1 Cjttiau Gwjddelod.
^ These are marked on the 25 in. Ordnance Map.
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
n
the following inscription, hie jacet Macuceceti.^ Mr. Rowlands, upon what authority I know not, supposes this to have been an inscription on Mechell or Macu- tius bishop of St. Maloes in Little Britain, who he says was buried here. We also observed two or three
♦-^ ^^>U-^J i'u.^6^ C4^u,.r^/, 14^^
f
FttiA
^utiun+jASft ;rov\EI +
'74 4
No. 63. Stones in Penhros LlAgwy Churchyard.
flat grave^ stones of a rough gritty substance about six feet long whereon was cut the figure of a cross in the same manner as those I noticed last year at Furness abbey. But what seemed most curious at
1 Maccudecceti.
'<^ No such stones are now to be found here.
78 TEN DATS* TOCE THROUGH
first sight was an inscription marked on a flat stone* lying on the ground whose characters I recognised to be similar to what I had observed on the font at Bridekirk in Cumberland mixed with Saxon letters of a much later date. On observing Mr. Richards smile after I had finished my copy I requested he would candidly tell me what the inscription meant and in what character (fol. 122) it was written for I could make nothing out of it when he was kind enough to
No. 5i. Croniloch Llwgwy, North-Eftat Side.
relieve me from my perplexity by explaining that it had been executed within these sixty years by a shepherds boy at the desire of a gentleman who employed various alphabets to compose it. The words are Welsh to this effect Yma hefyd mae Gorwedd Katherine Jones Ebrill 11 1744. ag. 70. Here also lies without Catherine Jones April 11 1744 aged 70. This I suppose was intended as a stumbling block for
' Catherine Jones' burial is entered in the Register, bnt the stone cannot be found.
THE ISLE OP ANGLESEA 79
antiquarians the idea being probably suggested by Mr. Rowland's Macutius in the neighbourhood. Like Doctor Johnson at the Hebrides I here had to regret the loss of my walking stick for although I dispatched our attendant and clerk in quest of it before we had proceeded an hundred yards from the place where I had copied the inscription, it was vanished. I shrewdly suspect that the clerk had taken a fancy tt) it as there was no other peraon in the church yari excepting our own party. However as he supplied me with some- thing as a substitute it (fol. 122a) did not longer delay our march which brought us in the course of half an hour to LlAgwy house an ancient mansion now rented by a farmer under Lord Boston who goodnaturedly invited us within doors and refreshed us with a good luncheon of bread and cheese and some excellent ale. We then walked a short distance from the house to a rising ground overgrown with timber trees and coppice wood but still there was sufficient opening to enable us to trace a number of the Cytiau Gwyddellhod of a more perfect form and larger dimensions than any we had yet seen. They appear to be surrounded by a breast work of massive stones stuck edgeways in the ground evidently intended as a fortification which was probably strengthened by a mound and sharp stakes. The habitations here are very contiguous the entrances easily traced as also a communication^ from one to the other. This is a strong confirmation of the historical account of the Aborigines who are said in the diflferent tribes to have had every (fol. 126) thing in common.
We purpose before we leave Wales visiting a very extensive fortress on the top of Penmaenmawr which Mr. Richards says resembles very much the one before us. Not far distant facing the ocean is a cromlech the upper stone six yards long, five yards and a half wide
J This is incorrect.
80 TEN DATS* TOUR THBOCQH
and three yards* thick. One end rests upon a bank* of earth and the other is BUpported by four or five small upright stones, leaving a hollow beneath about two feet high.
Near this we noticed the remains of JjKigwy chapel now entirely dilapidated. Walked hence to Llanalgo church said to have been built in the year six hundred and five. On the north wall near the altar is a mutilated monument^ of a knight in armour kneeling
o,.55is^:;'?:-||g^^,,^
No. .S5. Ijlugwj Cromlech [«nd Cser Lligwy.]
before an altar said to be that of Sir John Bodville a gentleman whose residence was in this parish. On digging a few years ago the foundation of the new parsonage the workmen discovered a square vault formed of a solid composition resembling thick fol. 126a) tile supposed to be an ancient burying place. Richards who was curate of this place for some years says he has in his possession English coins of
' The thickness is about 3 ft. 6 ins. ^ At thia end it rests on a Hat rock. " Demolished about fifteen years ago.
Ml
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
81
Sdward' and Mary found in digging in the church yard. Leaving the church we adjourned to a farm house close by where the party was again supplied with hread cheese and ale. Although I did not much admire this delay we were ohliged to comply with Mr. Richards's request. Continued here nearly an hour during which time a poor blind boy attempted to amuse us by playing on the harp but having received but few instructions was but an indiflferent performer,
No. 58. Cromlech Allcho.
our attendant then took the instrument and played some of the Welsh airs with tolerable execution. The poor boy in the meantime exhibited such strong marks of surprize mixed with mortification as would have supplied an admirable subject for the pen of Hogarth. After having given something to him we were not a little glad to take our leave it being (fol. 127) past two, and there was a doubt whether we could procure accommodation for the night nearer than Beaumaris at
I ? William and Mary,
82 TEN days' tour through
least twelve miles distant. Passed a stone about seven feet high nine long and three thick this is placed edgeways on a flat rock, another about the same shape and dimensions lies on the ground near at hand. A third formerly placed across has been destroyed within the memory of some of the inhabitants. These stones are called Cromlech but I should rather imagine like those we noticed at Llanfechell that it had con- stituted the chamber of a large Carnedd. Proceeding hence we walked over a natural layer of lime stones extending for some acres along the surface of the ground this is called Marian Glas a term expressive of flat grey stones. We here met with a countryman who joined our party and in our progress pointed out some more of the Cytiau Gwyddellhod on (fol. 127a) a rising ground called Bryn^ ddiol, and from hence we saw a hill about two miles to the westward named Rhos Fawr where he said were some other remains and cromlechs but this lay so much out of our direction we could not visit them. At Marian Mawr Mr. Richards quitted us. We were indeed much indebted to him for his polite attention in accompanying us ttius far for I am convinced that without his assistance we should have passed many of these curious remains the common people in general being ignorant of every- thing of the kind. This gentleman seems to have paid a good deal of attention to antiquities and has promised to favour me with a letter on the subject on my return home. But I could not help remarking in the course of conversation that superstition does not seem confined to the ignorant and illiterate for he told me very gravely (fol. 129) that there were companies of fairies still existing in Wales and particularly in Anglesea and that he had frequently driven them from their haunts. He also spoke of the knockers supposed to be little invisible beings favourable to the miners who by making a variety of sounds underground lead
^ At Traeth Bychan? Bryn ddiol is the hill on which the Romano- British village, close to Parciau House, is situated.
them to those places where there is the greatest quantity of ore. I could only be silent when I heard these opinions advanced but he has directed me to a book lately published by Mr. Edmund Jones of Ponty- pool on the subject. At Marian Mawr are six large stones of the same kind as the substrata rising above seven feet. They have obtained the name of cromlech but I rather imagine them to be natural productions.
Under the guidance of the countryman we proceeded to Red Wharl. Passed more of the Cytiau Gwyddel- hod at a place called Trescifion. Near here is an ancient mansion house called Glynn now belonging to Mr. Meyricke (fol. 129a) the name of Glynn a title common in miany parts of Wales I find implies a situation lying in a narrow valley overgrown with trees. Not far beyond was a house in which Mr. Hughes resided before his vast acquisition in the Parys ' mountain. Arrived at Red Wharf a little before dark and the house promised but very bad accommodations we were obliged* to put up with them. Our eating was of the least importance but on retiring to my sleeping apartment although the woman had provided clean linen the toute ensemble was so dirty I passed the night without taking off*mycloatbs.
Sunday, Deck. 12
We were not sorry to leave this wretched alehouse as soon as there was sufficient light to see our direction three miles across the sands of Traeth G6ch to the village of Llanddona whose church srands on an emi- nence above the (fol. 130) bay and was first founded by Ddona grandson of Brychfael ys Cythrog (who fought the Saxons when the monks of Bangor Iscoed were slaughtered) anno six hundred and ten. About half a mile to the left are the traces of a large entrenchment supposed to have been thrown up by the Britons as a defence against the northern invaders. This is on a
84 TEN days' tour through
rising knoll called Dyn Sylwyn' or Round Table Hill. This we had not leisure to see being obliged to hasten to Llainestan^ about a mile in the contrary direction in order to have sufficient time to notice an ancient monument, mentioned by Mr. Rowlands, before service
LlsDieityn.
began. Fortunately the church door was open and we met with no interruption during the half hour we stayed there. The object in question covering a cenotaph rose about two feet above the pavement near the communion table. A person in a sacerdotal habit
' Din Sylwy or Bwidd Artliur. - LlanieBtjfU
THE ISLE Of ANGLESEA 85
holding a pastoral crook in his right hand and in his left a scroll is here represented, whereon is inscribed (fol. 131a) hie jacet sanctus Jestinns cui &c., round the border of the slab towards the head the characters in parts are much defaced but I read Gryffydd ap Gwyllym in oblationem istam imaginem pro salute animarum suarum. The style of workmanship appears very similar to that of Pabo post Prid and by the way tends to confirm the opinion we there formed that the sculpture is many centuries posterior to the time of the persons they are designed to represent and offered as an oblation to the church for the purpose of securing the favour and mediation of the patron saint. That the family of this Gryffyd ap Gwyllym resided in this neighbourhood appears from a document still extant dated at Rhayder Gadog June the twentieth in the twenty seventh year of Henry the sixth by which seven villaines or vassals were made over and granted by Ednyfed Fychan ap Ednyfed Dafydd ap Gryffydd and Howell ap Dafydd according to the feudal system still obtaining to (fol. 133) William Gryffyd ap Gwylym free tenant of Porthamel probably the very same person who presented the effigies of St. Jesten to the church. This Jesten founder of the church is supposed to have been the son of Gerennius or Geraint grandson of Constantine duke of Cornwall successor to king Arthur. The font is certainly very ancient probably coeval with the original building. The present struc- ture differs nothing from other Welsh Churches. From hence proceeded across a swampy heath for a mile and a half to an old mansion called Fotti^ Rhydderch or Roderick's summer house having been directed thither to see an inscription cut over an arched chimney piece in the kitchen. The characters appear to be about the time of Henry the eighth or his successor and are read Si deus nobiscum quis contra nos. This place formerly the residence of a gentleman's family like
1 Hafodty
86 TEN OATS TOUft THROCOH
most others we have had occasion to notice in the island is now tenanted by a farmer (fol. 133a) who has a fine family of nine children. The eldest a lad of only eleven years old engaged to conduct us to the cromlechs at Cremlyn and Trefor. At the former place there is little worthy of notice but at the latter I took two sketches of a very perfect cromlech the upper stone measuring about three yards across sup- ported by two uprights the larger six feet high the
No. 59. Font at Llauiestj-n.
other not above four and a half which cause the cap stone to recline in a slanting direction. Another long stone now lying on the ground appears to have been formerly used as a supporter. Near at hand also are three or four flat stones lying promiscuously.
Whether these were ever employed in the formation of a second cromlech like at Praea Addfed* I cannot pretend to determine. About two fields from hence in our way to Penymynnedd^ we traced one of very
' Fresaddfsdd. * Penmynjdd.
THE ISLE OF ANOLSSBA
v^-
iw-.^:-'<
Nu, DO. Crumlecli at Tref..r.
No, 81. Cromlech at Trefor.
88 TEN days' tour through
small dimensions, the cap stone not being above a yard across and its two supporters a foot and a half high.
(fol. 136) After a toilsome walk we arrived at Penymynnedd a place formerly in possession of the Tudor family whose descendant Owen became of such consequence in the British history by marrying Catherine widow of Henry the fifth. In the church we perceived a handsome marble monument said to belong to that family whereon are the effigies of a knight in armour with his lady by his side. There being no inscription we could not determine its exact date but from the workmanship I should imagine it was posterior to the time of Owen who if I mistake not was buried in the cathedral of St. Davids but of this I shall inform myself hereafter.
The church of Penymynnedd formerly went by the name of its founder whose tomb they pointed out under a kind of gothic nitch in the north wall without any kind of inscription. I did not copy the monument on account of there being a good many people in church (fol. 136a) and I wished not to put a stumbling block in my brother's way but I afterwards made a sketch from memory just to notice the place. After a homely meal we walked half a mile across the fields to the turnpike, and in the course of an hour arrived at Bangor ferry completely soaked a heavy rain having accompanied lis all the way. Crossed the water about two with the design of reaching Capel Cerig to sleep but in this we were disappointed through the inattention of our guide who having stopped behind on some pretence we mistook our way and deviated nearly four miles before we got to Llandegai.
It was now quite dark and stormy and we endeavoured to procure horses to take us to the con- clusion of our stage but without success, on there- fore we marched to a small public house near Lord Penrhyn's quarries where we met a civil reception
THE ISLE OF ANQLE8EA 89
though the accommodatioiia were scarcely (fol. 138) a whit better than those of the preceeding night. In the course of two hours after our arrival our guide made his appearance with a number of excuses I did not think it worth while to listen to. At about ten we retired to our sleeping room.
Llangwyfau Church, {Sfe pagf 4
Monday, Decr. 13
It rained violently all night but clearing up after breakfast we pursued our road to Capel Cerig. In our way purchased a hone at the quarry near Ogwen lake of a man living in a cottage close at hand who is employed on the spot to procure this article and two or three shiploads have already been sent to different parts. Arrived at the inn about one gratified by our ten days tour in the island notwithstanding the bad weather we experienced having in that period walked above an hundred and sixty eight miles.
On page 66, Hue 30, /or
CantSmn (^tc^aeofojtcaf (^eeociatkn.
1908.
LIST OF MEMBERS.
patrons. HIS MAJESTY THE KING.
The Most Noble the Marquess of Bute
The Right Hon. the Earl op Powis
The Right Hon. the Earl of Cawdor
The Right Hon. Earl op Plymouth (President, 1898 and 1899)
The Right Hon. Viscount Tredegar (President, 1885)
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of St. David's
The Right Rev, the Lord Bishop of Llandaff
The Right Hon. Lord Dynevor
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The Right Hon. Lord Penrhyn
The Right Hon. Lord Aberdare (President, 1900)
The Right Hon. Lord Harlech
The Right Hon. Lord Llano attogk
The Right Hon. Lord Swansea
Sir Richard H. Williamb-Bulkxley, Bart.
The Rev. Professor A. H. Saycb, M.A., LL.D.
Vitt^xnitttTLH.
H. R. Hughes, Esq., Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire
Sir John Evans, D.C.L., F.R.S., V.P.S.A.
Sir C. E. G. Philipps, Bart. (PresideiU, 1880 and 1883), Lord Lieutenant
of the Town and County of Haverfordwest R. H. Wood, Esq., F.S.A., F.R.G.S. (President, 1903) Sir John Talbot Dillwyn-Llewelyn, Bart., M.A., F.L.S. (President,
1886) Lieut.-Ool. 0. S. Mainwarino (President^ 1887)
2 LIST OF MEMBERS.
M. le Dr. de Closmadeuc (President, 1889), Pr^ident de la Soci^t^ Polymath iqne da Morbihan
Sir John Rhys, M.A., LL.D., D.Litt. (President, 1891), Profeaaor of
Celtic, and Principal of Jesus College, Oxford W. Boyd Dawkins, Esq., M.A., F.R,S., F.S.A., Professor of Geology,
Owens College, Manchester The Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A., LL.D., Professor of Assyriology, Oxford The Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S.A. (President, 1906) Sir James Williams-Drummond, Bart. (PresiderU, 1892), Lord Lieutenant
of Carmarthenshire
Sir OwKN H. P. ScouRPiBLD, Bart. (President, 1897)
Edward Laws, Esq., F.S.A.
The Rev. Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S.A.
J. W. WiLLis-BuND, Esq., F.S.A. (President, 1905)
Henry Owen, D.C.L., F.S.A.
The Rev. Prebendary Garnons- Williams, M.A.
The Rev. S. Baring-Gould, M.A.
W. R. M. Wynne, Esq. (Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire).
Sir John Williams, Bart., K.C.V.O., LL.D., M.D., D.Sc.
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The President, with all those who have held that office ; the Vice-Presi- dents ; the Treasurer ; the General and Local Secretaries ; and the Editorial Sub-Committee, with the following :
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Thos. Mansel Franklen, Esq. Rev. John Fisher, B.D. Rev. E: J. Newell. Professor Anwyl. Professor Lloyd. Professor Powel. Iltyd Nicholl, Esq., F.S.A.
H. Harold Hughes, Esq., A.R.I.B. A .
J. Ward, Esq., F.S.A.
Mrs. Allen.
Edward Owen, Esq.
A. N. Palmer, Esq.
Rev. E. Evans.
D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq.
IBDitor. Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S.A., 4, Warwick Square, S.W.
([PDitortal ^at=Commtttee.
Professor Rhys, M.A., LL.D.
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Professor Anwyl, M.A.
Worthington G. Smith, Esq., F.L.S.
Creasurer. Colonel W. L. Morgan, R.E., Brynbriallu, Swansea.
Cru0tee0.
R. H. Wood, Esq., F.S.A. W. R. M. Wynne. Esq. Colonel W. Gwynne-Hughes
LIST OV MEMBERS.
8
iSrenetal ^enretarus. Rev. Oanon R Trevor Owen, M.A., F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage,
Rhuddlan (Flintshire), S.O. Bev. Charles Chidlow, MA., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth
France — Mong. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen
Brittany — M. de Keranfleo*h Keraezne, Ch&teau de Qu^i^nec, Mur de
Bretagne, Cdtes da Nord, France Scotland— ^oaeph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., Museum of Antiquities,
Edinburgh Ireland^B,. Cochrane, Esq., I.S.O., F.S.A., 17, Highfield Road, Rathgar,
Dublin Cornwall — Edwyn Parkyn, Esq., Royal Institute, Truro
Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Lew Trenchard Rectory, N. Devon
Aonorars ^imbent. M. Alexandre de Bertrand, Paris Mons. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen, France
Uoral ^ttxtXaxin, , J. E. Griffith, Esq., F.R.C.S., P.L.S., Bryn Dinas,
Upper Bangor Professor J. Morris Jones, Tycoch, Llanfair, P.G. Edw. Roberts, Esq., M.A., H.M.I.S., Carnarvon T. E. Morris, Esq., LL.M., Lombard St., Portmadoo A. Foulkes-Roberts, Esq., 34, Vale Street, Denbigh Rev. C. F. Roberts, M.A., Llanddulas Rectory,
Abergele Rev. W. LI. Nicholas, M.A., Rectory, Flint L. J. Roberts, Esq., H.M.LS., Rhyl Rev. J. E. Davies, M. A., The Rectory, Llwyngwril J. B. Willans, Esq., Dolf organ, Kerry Lieut. -Col. R. D. Garnons -Williams, Ty Mawr,
Brecon Professor Anwyl, M.A., Univ. College of Wales,
Aberystwyth J. H. Davies, Esq., M.A., Cwrtmawr, Aberystwyth H. M. Vaughan, Esq., Plas, Llangoedmore, Cardigan Alan Stepney- Guiston, Esq., Derwydd, Llandebie Rev. D. D. Evans, B.D., Llangunnor Vicarage,
Carmarthen Thos. Powel, Esq., M. A., University College, Cardiff C. Wilkins, E8q.,F.G.S., Springfield, Merthyr Tydfil
C. H. Glascodme, Esq., 7, Abingdon Grardens, Ken- sington, W.
D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq., Hendre, Swansea . Herbert J. Allen, Esq., Norton, Tenby
Rev. James Phillips, Haverfordwest
A. E. Bowen, Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool Colonel Bradney, Talycoed, Abergavenny . James Davies, Esq., Gwynf a, Broomy Hill, Hereford Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, M.A., St. George's Vicarage,
Shrewsbury Henry Taylor, Esq. F.S.A., Curzon Park, Chester
Anglesey . .
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The Marches
4
LIST OF MEMBERS.
MEMBERS.
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His Majesty the Kino . ♦Boston, The Right Hon. Lord .
Allen, Mrs. Thomas . Allen, W. Bird, Esq., M. A. Allen, Rev. W. Osborn, M.A. . Asher, Messrs., and Co. Baring-Gould, Rev. S., M.A. .
Baynes, E. Neil, Esq. Biblioth^que Nationale
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Bradley, Mrs
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Burnard, R., Esq., F.S A. .
Chambres, Rev. G. C, M.A.
Chetham Library
Cochrane, K. H., Esq., F.S. A., I.S.O., Hon. Sec. Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland .
Columbia University .
CunningtoD, B. Howard, Esq., F.S.A. Scot. ....
Cunnington, Mrs. B. Howard Davies, Timothy, Esq., M.P. Dawkins, W. Boyd, Esq., M.A.,
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(c/o Messrs. Stechert & Co., Star Yard, Carey Street, Chancery Lane, W.C.
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46, Albert Terrace, Middlesbrough
* Members admitted since the Annual Meeting, 1907, have an asterisk prefixed to their names.
LIST OF MEMBERS. 5
Evans, Sir John, F.R.S., E.C.B. Brittwall, Berkhampstead, HerU
Evana, £. Vincent, Esq. (Hon. Sec., Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion) .64, Chancery Lane, W.C.
Fryer, Alfred, Esq., Ph.D., M.A., F.S.A. . .13, Eaton Crescent, Clifton, Bristol
Gabriel, J. R., Esq., M.A. Technical College, Swindon, Wilts.
Glascodine, C. H., Esq. . 7, Abingdon Gardens, Kensington, W.
Griffiths, Joseph, Esq., M.D. . 1, St. Peter's Terrace, Cambridge
Guildhall Library, E.C. . (c/o Edward M. Borrajo, Esq.)
Hartland, Ernest, Esq., M.A.,
F.S.A Hardwick Court, Chepstow
Hartland,E. Sidney, Esq., F.S. A. Highgarth, Gloucester
Harvard College Library . . Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. (c/o Mesisrs.
Kegan Paul, TrUbner ^ Co., 43, Gerrard Street, Soho, W.C.)
Hereford Free Library . . Hereford
Ho worth, Sir Henry H., K.C.I.E., F.R.S., F.S.A. . 30, ColUngham Place, S.W.
Humberston, Mrs. — . 11, Pelham Crescent, Kensington, S.W.
Jackson, J., Esq. . . . 26, Leazas Terrace, Newcastle-ou-Tyiie
Jesus College Library . Oxford
Jones, E. Alfred, Esq. . Hampden House, Phoenix Street, N.W\
Jones, Rev. G. Hart well, D.D. . Nut field Rectory, Kedhill
Jones, Lawrence, Esq. . • 6, Water Street, Liverpool
Jones, Robert, M.D., F.R.C.S, . Claybury, Woodford, Essex
Jones, W. E. T., Esq. . . 5, Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, W.C.
Jones, J. Prichard, Esq. . . 76, Canfield Gardens, Hampstead, N.
Joseph- Watkin, T. M., Euq. . Hei'ald's College, QueenVictoriaSbrtiet, {FortcuUia) E.C.
King's Inns' Library . . Dublin (J. Carter, Esq.)
♦Lewis, Mrs 71, Carlisle Mansions, Westminster,
S.W. [U.S.A.
Lewis, William F., Esq. . . 21 09, Walnut Street, Philadelphia,
Liverpool Free Public Library . Liverpool (c/o Peter Cowell, Esq.)
Lloyd, Alfred, Esq.,F.C.S.,F.E.S. The Dome, Upper Bognor, Sussex
London Library . . . St. James's Square, S. W.
Manchester Free Library . . Manchester
Masterman, John Story, Esq. . St. Margaret's, Dorking
Melbourne Public Library . . c/o Agent-General for Victoria, 142,
Queen Victoria Street, E.C.
♦Morgan, Rev. D. M. . . 30, Kimberley Street, Prince's Park,
Liverpool
Morris, The Rev. Canon Rupert St. Gabriel's Vicarage, 4, Warwick
H., D.D., F.S.A. . . . Square, S.W.
Morris, T. E., Esq., LL.M. . 8, Fig-Tree Court, Temple, E.C. McClure, Rev. Edmund, M.A. . 80, Eccleston Square, S.W. New York Library . . New York (c/o Mr. B. F. Stevtuti,
4, Trafalgar Square, W^.C.)
6 LIST OF MEMBERS.
Norman, George, Esq., M.D. . 12, Brock Street, Bath
Owen, Edward, Esq. . . . India Office, Whitehall, S.W.
Pennsylvania Historical Society (c/o Messrs. B. F. Stevens & Brown,
4, Trafalgar Square, W.C.)
Peter, Thurstan C, Esq. . . Redruth, Cornwall
Preece, Sir W. Henry, K.C.B.,
F.R.S Gothic Lodge, Wimbledon
Price, Hamlyn, Esq. . . . Ic, King Street, St. James's Square,
S.W.
Price. - , Esq 43, Pall Mall, London, S.W.
Pritchard, John Jones, Esq. . 6, Stanley Road, Waterloo, Liverpool
Pritchard, L. Jones, Esq. . . Menai Lodge, Chiswick, W.
Prichaid, Rev. R. W., M.A. . Stoke Vicarage, Chester
Prichard-Morgan, W., Esq. 1, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.
Rennes, Bibiioth^que Universi- taire Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France
Rhys, Sir John, M.A., LL.D., Professor of Celtic and Princi- pal of Jesus College . . Jesus College, Oxford
Roberts, Sir Owen, M.A., D.C.L. Horley Park, Guildford
Sayce, Rev. A. H., LL.D., Prof.
of Assyriology . . . Queen's College, Oxford
Smith, Worthington G., Esq.,
F.L.S 121, High Street North, Dunstable
Sydney Free Public Library . (c/o Messrs. Truslove, Hanson & Co.,
153, Oxford Street, W.)
Taylor, His Honor Judge, K.C. . 4, Harcourt Buildings, Temple, E.O.
Thomas, Lieut. -Col. G. T. . The Bush, Walton-on-Tharoes
Thomas, Rev. W. Mathew, M.A. Billingboro' Vicarage, Folkingham,
S.O., Lincolnshire
Toronto Public Library . (c/o Messrs. CD. Cazenove & Son, 26,
Henrietta St., Covent Garden, W.C.)
Vaughan- Williams, F., Esq. Holly hurst. Barton under Needwood,
Burton-on-Trent
^Venmore, James, Esq. . Parkside, Anfield Road, Liverpool
Willis-Bund, J. W., Esq., F.S.A. 16, Old Square, Lincoln'sinn, W.C.
Williams, Miss M. C. L. . 6, Sloane Gardens, S.W.
Wynne, C. M. E., Esq. . . 67, Torrington Square, W.C.
NORTH WALES.
ANGLESEY. (24)
Paget, Lady Alexander
Eeade, Lady ....
Bulkeley, Sir Richard H. Williams, Bart., Lord Lieu- tenant of Anglesey.
Meyrick, Sir George, Bart.
Yerney, Sir Edmund, Bart.
Adeane, Miss
Davies, Rev. Canon
Davies, Rev. John
Evans, S. J., Esq.
Evans, Rev. Evan
Evans, Rev. R. .
Glegg, Mrs.
Griffith, Rev. Ellis Hughes
HaU, Rev. W. E. Scott .
Hampton- Lewis, Mrs.
Jones, Professor J. Morris
Lloyd Theakstone, Mrs. .
Massey, Miss
Massey, Miss Gwendolin .
Prichard, Thomas, Esq.
Thomas, Fleet - Surgeon Lloyd, R.N. .
♦Walters, Rev. T. .
Williams, Rice R., Esq.
♦Williams, Rev. John . .
J.
Plasnewydd, Llanfair, P.G., S.O. Carreg-lwyd, The Yalley, S.O.
Baron Hill, Beaumaris, S.O.
Bodorgan, Llangefni, S.O.
Clay don House, Winslow, Bucks ; and Rhianva, Menai Bridge
Plas Llanf awr, Holyhead
Vicarage, Gkierwen, S.O.
Penmon, Beaumaris, S.O.
County School, Llangefni, S O. [S.O.
Llansadwrn Rectory, Menai Bridge,
Llanidan Vicarage, Llanfair, P.G.
Plas, Llanfair, P.G., S.O.
Llangadwaladr Vicarage, Llangefni,
Plas, Llanfaelog [S.O.
Henllys, Beaumaris, S.O.
Tycoch, Llanfair P.G., S.O.
Fir Grove, Menai Bridge, S.O.
Comely, Beaumaris, S.O.
Comely, Beaumaris, S.O. [S.O.
Llwydiarth Esgob, Llanerchymedd,
Denmor, Penmon Beaumaris ; and Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham
Llanfechell Rectory, Rhosgoch, S.O.
Stanley House, Holyhead
Llwyn Idrib, Llanfair, P.G., S.O.
CARNARVONSHIRE. (38)
Greaves, J. E., Esq., Lord Lieutenant of Carnarvonshire Bron Eifion, Criccieth
Mostyn, The Lady Augusta Arnold, Professor E. Y., M.A. . Breese, Charles E., Esq. . Davids, Miss Rose
♦Davies, Rev. J. L. . Davies, John Issard, Esq., M.A. Davies, J. R., Esq. Evans, Rev. A. O. . Evans, Aneurin, Esq. Evans, Colonel O. LI. G. . Evans, Mrs. Lloyd Foster, W. A., Esq.
Gloddaeth, Llandudno'
Bryn Seiriol, Bangor
4, Marine Terrace, Portmadoc
Greenhall, High Blantyre, N.B. ; and
Plas Llanwnda, Carnarvon Bryngroes Vicarage, Pwllheli Llysmeirion, Carnarvon Ceris, Bangor Bangor Carnarvon
Broom Hall, Chwilog, S.O. Broom Hall, Chwilog, S.O. Glyn Menai, Bangor
8
LIST OF MEMBERS.
♦Free Library, The .
Gardner, Willoughby, Esq., r.L.S., r.xv.Q.o. ...
Griffith, J. E., Esq., F.R.A.S., r .Xi.D. .....
Guest, Miss Edith
Hughes. H. Harold, Esq.,
i^. xC.X. j5.a. ....
Job, Rev. J. T
Jones, G. A., Esq.
Lewis, Rev, J. P., M.A. .
Lloyd-Jones, Miss
Lloyd, Prof. John Edward, M.A.
Morrice. Rev. J. C, B.A.
North, Herbert L., Esq.
Owen, Cledwyn, Esq.
Parry, R. Ivor, Esq.
Pryce, A. Ivor, Esq., M.A.
Roberts, Rev. H. R.
Roberts, E.,E8q., H.M.I.S.,M.A.
University College Library
Watkin-Davies, Rev. F. P.
Watts-Jones, Mrs. H.
Williams, Mrs. Ignatius
Williams, W. P., Esq.
Williams, J. A. A., Esq.
Williams, Rev. J. E.
Wyatt, J. W., Esq. .
Carnarvon
T Berlfa, Deganwy
Bryn Dinan, Upper Bangor Cartrefle, Abbey Road, Llandudno
Aelwyd, Bangor
Bethesda, Bangor
Carnarvon
Llanystumdwy Rectory, Criccieth
Penralit, Penmaenmawr, S.O.
Waen Deg, Bangor
5, Brynteg Terrace, Bangor
Llanfairfechan, S.O.
Pwllheli, S.O.
Pwllheli, 8.0.
Diocesan Registry, Bangor
Llanengan Rectory, Pwllheli
Plas Maesincla, Carnarvon
Bangor
The Vicarage, Llanfairfechan, S.O.
Glyn, Penmaenmawr
Hendregadredd, Pentrefelin, Port-
CaeV Onnen, Bangor [madoc
Aberglaslyn, Beddgelert, Carnarvon
The Vicarage, Portmadoc
Cae Synamon, Carnarvon
DENBIGHSHIRE. (31)
Dundonald, The Countess of
Williams- Wynn, Lady
Williams - Wynn, Sir Watkin, Bart., C.B., Lord Lieut, of Montgomeryshire
McLaren, Sir Chas. B. B., Bart., IX..O., M.x . ....
Gwrych Castle, Abergele, S.O. Ardley, Bicester
Wynn stay, Rhnabon B6dnant, Eglwysfach, S.O.
Barnes, Mrs The Quinta, Chirk, Rhuabon
Behrens, George B., Esq. Darlington, James, Esq. Davies, D. S., Esq. . Davies, John, Esq. . *Evans, Rev. J. Silas Fisher, Rev. John, B.D. Foulkes-Roberts, A., Esq. ♦Free Library, The .
Caerfedwen, Trefnant, S.O. JBlack Park, Rhuabon Castle House, Denbigh Bryn-y-Parc, Denbigh Gyflfylliog Rectory, Ruthin Cefn Rectory, St. Asaph 34, Vale Street, Denbigh Wrexham
U8T OF MEMBERS.
9
M
Harrison, S. 11., Esq., F.R
Hope, Rev. Evan Hughes, J. 0., Esq. Jones, T. E., Esq., M.D. Jones-Bateman, Rev. B., Kyrke, R. V., Esq. . Lloyd, Humphry, Esq. Lynch, Francis, Esq. Mainwaring, Lieut.-Col. Morris, E., Esq., M.A. Morris, John, Esq. Palmer, A. N., Esq. . Powell, Rev. E. W., M.A. Roberts, Rev. C. F., iM.A. Sandbaoh, Colonel Trevor - Parkins, The Chancellor, M.A. .
Williams, Thomas, Esq. Wynne, Mrs. F.
G.S.,
mJL»
Wor.
Cartrefle, Abergele, S.O.
St. Mary's Church, Wrexham
Estate Office, Llangedwyn, Oswestry
Henar, Llanrwst
Pentre Mawr, Abergele
Nant-y-ffiidd, Wrexham
Morannedd, Llanddulas, Abergele, S.O.
Glasooed, Wrexham
Galltfaenan, Trefnant, S.O.
Walmer Villa, Wrexham
Lletty LUnnnnan, Abergele, S.O.
17, Bersham Road, Wrexham
Brymbo Vicarage, Wrexham
Llanddulas Rectory, Abergele, S.O.
Hafodunos, Abergele, 8.0.
Glasfryn, Gresford, Wrexham Llywesog, Denbigh Ystrad Cottage, Denbigh
FLINTSHIRE. (aB)
Hughes, Hugh R., Eb<]^., Lord Kinmel Park, Abergele, S.O. (Den- Lieutenant of Flintshire bighskire).
*Bt, Asaph, The Right Rev. the
The Palace, St. Asaph
Lord Bishop of Kenyon, Right Hon. Lord Mostyn, Right Hon. Lord St. Asaph, Very Rev. Dean of . Davies, Rev. W. J., B.A. ^Evans, E. Lewis, Esq.
Felix, Rev. J
Godsal, Philip T., Esq. . Hook, Rev. Paul Jones, Rev. D., M.A. Lewis, W. A., Esq., M.A. Meredith, W. F., Esq.
Mesham, Colonel Morris, Dr. — ...
Nicholas, Rev. W. LL, M.A. Owen, Rev. Canon R. Trevor, M.A., F.S.A. ....
Gredington, Whitchurch, Salop
Mostyn Hall, Mostyn
Deanery, St. Asaph
Bryntirion, St. Asaph
36, High Street, Rhyl
Cilcain Vicarage, Mold
Isooed Park, Whitchurch, Salop
St. Mary's College, Holywell
The Vicarage, Gorsedd, Holywell
Glangwynedd, Rhyl
Corporation Water Works, Hayfield^ near Stockport
Pontruffydd, Trefnant, S.O. {Denbigh-
Bodowen, Holjrwell [shire)
The Rectory, Flint
Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O.
Pennant, Philip P., Esq., M.A. NantUys, St. Asaph
Price, W. Fred., Esq. Rawlins, F. L., Esq. Richardson, Mrs.
Fron Haul, Bodfari, Trefnant, S.O. Rhyl (Denbighshire^
Rhyl
B
10
LIST OF MEMBERS.
Roberts, L. J., Esq., H.M.LS. . St. Beuno's College Library St. Deiniora Library, Storey, W. J. P., Esq. Tayleiir, 0. Richard, Esq. Vaughan- Jones, Rev. W., M.A. Williams, Rev. R. O., M.A.
Tegfan, Russell Road, Rhyl
St. Asaph
Ha warden, Chester
Preswylfa, Rhyl
Rhyl
Mostyn Vicarage, Holywell
Rose Hill, St. Asaph, S.O.
MERIONETHSHIRE. (13)
Wynne, W. R. M., Esq., Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire
Owen, Lady .... Davies, Rev. J. E., M.A. . Davies, R. O., Esq. . Dodd, F. R., Esq. Griffith, Edward, Esq. Leigh-Taylor, John, Esq. . Morris, R. Jones, Esq. Owen, Rev. William Owen, Owen, Esq. Vaughan, Rev. T. H., B.A., Wynne- Williams, If or O., Esq. . Wood, R. H., Esq., F.S.A., F.R.G.S.
Peniarth, Towyn, S.O. 2, Brandling Park, NewcasUe-on-Tyne The Rectory, Llwyngwril, S.O. The Square, Blaenau Festiniog Intermediate School, Blaenau Festi- Coedcymmer, Dolgelly [niog
Penmaen Uchaf , Dolgelly Tycerrig, Talsarnau, S.O. Llanelltyd Vicartkge, Dolgelly Llys Dorvil, Blaenau Festiniog Glyndyfrdwy Vicarage, Llangollen Bronwylfa, Llanderfel, Corwen Belmont, Sidmouth, S. Devon ; and Pant-glas, Trawsfynydd
MONTGOMERYSHIRE. (15)
Powis,TheRightHon.theEarlof, Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
Pryce- Jones, Lady .
Dugdale, J. Marshall, Esq., M. A.
Jones, R. E., Esq.
Leslie, Mrs
Lloyd- Vemey, Mrs. .
Lomax, J., Esq.
Maonair, Mrs.
Mytton, Captain
Phillimore, Egerton, Esq.
Pughe, Mrs. Arthur
Temple, Miss ....
Thomas, Ven. Archdeacon, M.A., r.S.A. ....
Turner, E. R. Horsfall, Esq .
Willans, J. Bancroft, Esq.
Powis Castle, Welshpool Dolerw, Newtown, Mont Llwyn, Llanfyllin, Oswestry Cefn Bryntalch, Abermule, S.O.
Bryntanat, Llansantfraid, Llany- mynech, S.O.
Clochfaen, Llangurig, Llanidloes
Bodfach, Llanfyllin, Oswestry
Pennal Tower, Machynlleth
Garth, Welshpool
Penrhos Arms, Cemmaes, S.O.
Gwyndy, Llanfyllin, Oswestry
Llandysilio, Oswestry
Llandrinio Rectory, Llanymynech, Os- westry; and The Canonry, St. Asaph Llys Efrog, Llanidloes, S.O. Dolforgan, Kerry, Newtown, Mont.
^ .-^
SOUTH WALES.
BRECKNOCKSHIRE. (7)
Lloyd, Right Rev. John, D.D.,
Bishop Suffragan of Swansea Cantref Rectory, Brecon
Dawson, Mrs Scethrog« Bwlch, S.O.
Gamons- Williams, Lt.-Col. R.D. Tymawr, Brecon
Jebb, J. A., Esq. . . Watton Mount, Brecon
Jones, Rev. M. H., B.A. . Treyeoca College, Talgarth, Brecon
Price, Rev. John, M.A. . Llanfeigan Rectory, Brecon
Williams, Rev. Preb. G., M.A. Abercamlais, Brecon
CARDIGANSHIRE. (aB)
Davies-Evans, Lient.-Col. H.,
Lord Lieut, of Cardiganshire Highmead, Llanybyther, S.O.
Anwyl, Professor, M.A. . . Univ. Coll. of Wales, Aberystwyth
Camber- Williams, Rev. Canon
R., M.A. . . Vicarage, Lampeter
Bebb, Rev. Principal, M.A. . St. David's College, Lampeter
Davies, J. H., Esq., M.A. . Cwrtmawr, Aberystwyth
♦Edwardes, Rev. David, M.A. . Crynfryn, Llangeitho, Cardiganshire
Ellis, Thomas, Esq. Glascoed, Aberystwyth
Ellis, Mrs. T. E. Laura Place, Aberystwyth
Evans, Captain E. W. W. . Blenheim Club, 12, St. James' Square,
S.W. ; and Camnant, Llandyssul Evans, Rev. George Eyre . Ty Tringad, Aberystwyth Evans, W. T., Esq. . . . Troedyrhiw, Llanon, Aberystwyth Francis, J., Esq. . . Wallog, Berth, S.O. Hughes, Joshua, Esq. . Rhosygadair Newydd, Cardigan Lewes, Miss Evelyn . . Ty-Glyn Aeron, Ciliau Aeron, Cardigan Lloyd, Charles, Esq., M.A. Waunifor, Maes y Crugiau, S.O. Phillips, Rev. T. . . . Aberporth Rectory, Cardigan Pritohard, Mrs. . . The Priory, Cardigan Rees, Rev. R. J., M.A. . Rhos, Aberystwyth Roberts, D. C, Esq. . . . 10, South Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth Roberts, T. F., Esq., M.A., Prin- cipal of Univ. CoU. of Wales . Aberystwyth Rogers, J. E., Esq. . . . Abermeurig, Felinfach, Cardiganshire St. David's Coll., The Librarian of Lampeter
Samuel, David, Esq., M.A. . The County School, Aberystwyth
Yaughan, Herbert M., Esq. . Plas Llangoedmore, Cardigan
Waddingham, T. J., Esq. . . Havod, Devil's Bridge, S.O.
Williams, Yen. Archdeacon, M. A. Abergeldie House, Aberystwyth
Terward- James, W. E., Esq. . Cae Morgan, Cardigan Young-Evans, Rev. Profe8.sor,
M.A Dean Gate, Aberystwyth
12
LIST OF MEMBERS.
CARMARTHENSHIRE. (34)
WiltiamB-Drummond^Sir J.,Bart.,
Lord Lieut, of GarmartheQBbire Edwinaford, Llandeilo, S.O. St David's, The Lord Bishop of The Palace, Abergwilly, Cannarthen Djneyor, The Right Hon. Lord Dynevor Oaaile, Llandeilo/S.O.
Plas Lianstephan, Oarmarthenahire Diocesan Registry, Carmarthen Dolygarreg, Llandovery 10, Spilman Street, Carmarthen Castell Gorfod, St. Clears, S.O.
Williams, Sir John, Bart., M.D.
Barker, T. W., Esq. .
Bishop, His Honour Judge
Brigstocke, T. £., Esq.
Buckley, Captain James
Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society, (0/0 Walter Spurrell, Esq.) Carmarthen
Collier, Ernest, Esq., M.S.A. Davies, A. Llewelyn, Esq. Davies, Rev. D. H. . Davies, Rev. Wm.
Evans, Mrs. Colby Evans, Rev. D. D., B.D. . 6 Wynne- Hughes, Colonel W. Hughes, John F., Esq. James, Daniel, Esq., M.A. Jones, John D. , Esq.
Johnes, Mrs Dolaucothy, Llanwrda, S.O.
Lloyd, H. Meuric, Esq., M.A. Delfryn, Llanwrda, S.O. Morgan, J. B., Esq. . 60, New Road, Llanelly
Morris. Rev. J., M.A. Vicarage, Llanybyther, S.O.
Poole-Hughes, Rev. W. W.,M.A. The College, Llandovery Spurrell, Walter, Esq. Carmarthen
Stepney-Gulston, Alan J., Esq. Derwydd, LUndebie, S.O. Thomas, Rev. Griffith
4, Quay Street, Carmarthen
Brynderw, Carmarthen
Ffinant, Newcastle Emlyn
Vicarage, Llanfihangel Aberoowin,. St. Clears
Guildhall Square, Cannarthen
Llangunnor Vicarage, Carmarthen
Glancothy, Nantgaredig, S.O.
Belle Vue, Llandeilo
Vrondeg, Llandeilo
Post Office, Carmarthen
Thomas, Rev. John, M.A. . Thomas, Mrs. R. M. Treheme, G. G. T., Esq. . Wheldon, J. P., Esq.
Williams, Rev. J. A. . Williams, Rev. R., M.A. . Williams, Mrs. W. J.
Troedybryn, Carmarthen Langharne Vicarage, St. Clears, S.O. Llanddowror, St. Clears, S.O. 7, Bloomsbury Square, London, W.C.
NationaliProvincial Bank, Carmarthen^
S.O.
Llangathen Vicarage, Golden Grove,. Vicarage, Llandeilo 21, Pioton Terrace, Carmarthen
GLAMORGANSHIRE. (93)
Plymouth, The Rt. Hon. Earl of, Lord Lieut, of Glamorganshire
Bute, The Most Noble the Marquis of ... .
St. Pagan's Castle, Cardiff The Castle, Cardiff
LIST OF MEMBRRS.
13
Llandaff, The Lord Bishop of . Aberdare,The Right Hon. Lord .
Dillwyn - Llewelyn, Sir John
Talbot, Bart., M.A. Lewis, Sir W. T., Bart. . Llandaff, Very Rev. the Dean of Benthall, Ernest, Esq. Blosse, E. F. Lynch, Esq. Cardiff Free Library . Cathedral Library Clark, Godfrey L., Esq. Corbett, E. W. M., Esq. . Corbett, J. Stnart, Esq. . David, W. W. , Esq. , M. D. Davies, Rev. David, M.A.
Davies, Dr. ....
Davies, C. Morgan, Esq. . Davies, Rev. H. C, M.A. Edwards, W.,E8q.,M.A.,H.M.I.S. Edmondes, Yen. Arch., M.A. .
Edmondes, Mrs
Evans, Rev. A. F., M.A. Evans, Pepyat W., Esq. , Evans, Rev. W. F., M.A. Evans, W. H., Esq. .
Evanson, Rev. Morgan, B.Sc. . Franklen, Thos. Mansel, Esq. . George, Isaac, Esq. . Gibbins, Wm., Esq. . Gordon, Mrs. R. W. . Gray, Thomas, Esq. . Griffith, Rev. John . Griffiths, W., Esq. . Halliday,G. E.,Esq., F.R.I.B.A. Hybart, F. W., Esq. . James, C. H., Esq. . James, Frank T., Esq. Jones, D. W., Esq. . Jones, Edmund, Esq. Jones, Evan, Esq. Jones, Oliver Henry, Esq., M.A. Jones, Edgar, Esq., M.A. . Jones, Rhys, Esq. . Jones, J. Amallt, Esq., M.D. . Jones, S. L., Esq.
The Palace, Llandaff Dyffryn, Aberdare
Penllergare, Swansea
Mardy, Aberdare
Deanery, Llandaff
Glantwrcb, Ystalyfera, S.O.
Coytrehen, Aberkenfig, S.O.
Cardiff
Llandaff
Talygarn, Llantrisant, Glam., S.O.
Pwll-y-pant, Cardiff
Bute Estate Office, Cardiff
The Glog, Pontypridd
St. Andrews Major Rectory, Dinas
Powis, near Cardiff Bryn Golwg, Aberdare 112, High Street, Merthyr Tydfil St. Hilary Rectory, Cowbridge Courtland House, Merthyr Tyd61 Nolton Court, Bridgend Old Hall, Cowbridge Vicarage, Neath 33, Newport Road, Cardiff The School, Cowbridge Llanmaes House, Llantwit Major,
Cardiff Merthyr Mawr Rectory, Bridgend St. Hilary, Cowbridge The Grove, Mountain Ash Garthmor, Neath Nottage Court, Porthcawl, Glam. Underbill, Port Talbot, Glam. Llangynwyd, Glamorgan Pencaemawr, Merthyr Tydfil 19, Castle Street, Cardiff Conway Road, Canton, Cardiff 64, Park Place, Cardiff Penydarren House, Merthyr Tydfil Gkilon-uchaf, Merthyr Tydfil The Forest, Glyn Neath, Glam. Ty-mawr, Aberdare Fonmon Castle, Cardiff County School, Barry Godrecoed, Neath
Heathmont, Aberavon, Port Talbot GnoU Road, Neath
14
List Otr MBM^EftS.
Knight, R. L., Esq. Leigh, Dr.
Lewis, Rev. Canon .
Lewie, Rev. Daniel
Lewis, Lient.-Colonel D. R.
Lewis, Mrs
Linton, H. P., Esq. . Llewellyn, R. W., Esq. . Metford, Miss .... Moore, G. W., Esq. Moore-Gwyn, J., Esq. Morgan, Colonel W. L., R.E. . Morgan, J. Llewellyn, Esq. Nicholl, Dtyd, Esq., F.8.A. Nicholl, J. L D., Esq. Owen, J. Trevor, Esq., M.A. . Phillips, Rev. T. C. . Powel, Professor Thomas,
Pegge, E. L., Esq. . Pughe- Jones, J. E., Esq. Rees, Hovrell, Esq. .
Reynolds, Llywarch, Esq.,
MA
Richards, J. E., Esq.
Royal Institution of S. Wales .
Ryland, C. J., Esq. .
Salmon, Principal David . Seaborne, George, Esq. Stock wood, S. H., Esq. Swansea Free Library Talbot, Miss .... Thomas, A. C, Esq. . Thomas, D. Llenfer, Esq., M.A
Thomas, J. Lynn, Esq., C.B. . Thomas, Rev. J. L., M.A. Thomas, Trevor F., Esq. . Thomas, Lewis D., Esq. . Thompson, Herbert M., Esq. . Traherne, L. E., Esq. Tyler, Mrs. Trevor . University College Library Vachell, C. T., Esq., M.D.
Tythegston Court, Bridgend, Glam.
Glynbargoed, Treharris, Glamorgan- shire
Ystrad - y - f odwg Vicarage, Pentre»
Glamorgan Rectory, Merthyr Tydfil Plas Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil Greenmeadow, Tongwynlais, Cardiff Llandaff Place, Llandaff Baglan, Briton Ferry Glasfryn, Dinas-Fowys, Cardiff Pen lUtyd, Palace Road, Llandaff Dyffryn, Neath Brynbrialla, Swansea Bryn Teilo, Llandaff The Ham, Cowbridge Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend, Glam. Grammar School, Swansea Skewen Vicarage, Neath
University College, Cardiff Grelli Dochlithe, Crynant, Neath 43, Trafalgar Terrace, Swansea Glyndwr, 190, Newport Road, Car- diff
48, Glebeland Street, Merthyr Tydfil
Woodlands, Neath
Swansea
Cardwell Chambers, Marsh Street,
Bristol; and Southemdown Training College, Swansea Brynheulog, Hengoed, Cardiff Bridgend, Glam. Swansea
Margam Park, Taibach 103, Cathedral Road, Cardiff
Hendre, Swansea
21, Windsor Place, Cardiff
Pont-neath-Vaughan, Neath
Ely Rise, Cardiff
69, Lewis Road, Neath
Whitley Batch, Llandaff
Coedriglan Park, Cardifi
Llantrythid, Cowbridge
Cardiff
11, Park Place, Cardiff
LtST Of M£Mt)»Rfi.
15
Ward, John, Esq., F.S.A. . Wheadey, J. L., Eaq. WUliams, W., Esq., M.D. Williams, W. A., Esq. Williams, Mrs. Wilkina, Charles, Esq., F.G.S.
Public Museum, Cardiff 174, Newport Eoad, Cardiff Brynderw, Penarth, Glam. Tremains, Bridgend, Glam. Cartrefle, Hirwaiu, Aberdare Springfield, Merthyr Tydfil
PEMBROKESHIRE. (25)
Cawdor, The Right Hon. Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Pem- brokeshire ....
Philipps, Sir C. E. G., Bart., Lord Lieutenant of the Town and County of Haverfordwest .
Scourfield, Sir Owen H. P. , Bart.
Allen, Miss Mary
Allen, Herbert, Esq.
Bancroft, J., Esq., H.M.I.S.
Bowen, Rev. Preb. .
Bushell, Rev. W. Done, M.A. .
Cathedral Library Chidlow, Rev. C, M.A. Green, Francis, Esq. . Hilbers, Yen. Archdeacon, M.A. Jones, E. D., Esq.
Laws, Edward, Esq., F.S.A. Leach, A. L., Esq.
Lewis, Rev. T
Lloyd, Richard, LI., Esq.
0 wen,Henry, Esq., D.C.L.,F.S. A.
Phillips, J. W., Esq. Phillips, Rev. J. Samson, Louis, Esq., F.S.A. ♦Sewell, Rev. R. H., B.A. Thomas, Rev. O. Jones Thomas, Mrs. James Wade-Evans, Rev. A. W. .
Stackpole Court, Pembroke
Picton Castle, Haverfordwest Williamston, Neyland
c/o C. F. Egerton Allen, Esq., Hill
Cottage, Tenby 10, The Norton, Tenby, and Winton
House, Leamington
Somerset House, Tenby
Monkton Priory, Pembroke
The Hermitage, Harrow ; and Caldy, Pembroke
St. David's, Pembroke
Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth
Glanymor, St, David's
St. Thomas Rectory, Haverfordwest
6, Addison Road, Kensington, W.,
and Fishguard Brython Place, Tenby
Giltar, Shrewsbury Lane, Plumstead, S.E. ; (Tenby and Co., News Office, Tenby)
Lampeter Velfrey Rectory, Narberth
Pentypark, Clarbeston Road, S.O.
44, Oxford Terrace, Hyde Park, W.;
and Poyston, Pembroke Haverfordwest
Uzmaston Vicarage, Haverfordwest Scotch well, Haverfordwest Rhoscrowther Rectory, Pembroke Llandyssilio Vicarage, Clynderwen Rock House, Haverfordwest 41, Goldsmith Avenue, Acton, W.,
and Fishguard, Pembroke
16
LIST OF MEMBERS.
RADNORSHIRE. (7)
Jones, John, Esq. . Ash Yilla, Rhayader
Sladen, Mrs Rhydoldog, Rhayader
Thomas, Rev. J. J., B.A. Thomas, R. Wellings, Esq. Yenables-Lle welyn, Charles, Esq. Williams, Mrs. Williams, Rev. Preb. T., M.A.
The Manse, Rhayader
County Surveyor's Office, Llandrin
Llysdinam, Newbridge-on-Wye
Penralley, Rhayader
Llowes Vicarage, Hereford
MONMOUTHSHIRE. (13)
Tredegar, Right Hon. Viscount, Lord Lieut, of Monmouthshire
Llangattock, The Rt. Hon. Lord
Jackson, Sir H. M., Bart. .
Anthony, Miss ....
Bowen, A. E., Esq.
Bowen, A. J. H., Esq., B.A.
Bradney, Joseph A., Esq.
Hanbury, J. Capel, Esq.
Howell, T. H., Esq.
Martin, E. P., Esq. .
Rickards, R., Esq.
Secretary, The ....
Tredegar Park, Newport
The Hendre, Monmouth
Llantilio Court, Abergavenny
The Grove, Caerphilly, Mon.
The Town Hall, Pontypool
Town Hall, Pontypool
Tal-y-Coed, Monmouth
Pontypool Park, Mon.
Cader Idris, Stow Park, Newport, Mon.
The Hill, Abergavenny
The Priory, Usk
Public Library, Newport, Mon.
Williams, Albert A., Esq. Penyparc, Llangibby, Newport, Mon.
THE MARCHES. (17)
Harlech, The Right Hon. Lord . Banks, W. H., Esq., B.A. . Bulkeley-0 wen,Rev. T. M., M.A. Corrie, A. Wynne, Esq. Davies, James, Esq. . Drinkwater, Rev. C. H., M.A. . Gleadowe, T. S., Esq., H.M.LS. Lloyd, Edward, Esq.
Brogyntyn, Oswestry
Hergest Oroft, Kington, Herefordshire
Tedsmore Hall, West Felton, R.S.O.
Park Hall, Oswestry
Gwynva, Broomy Hill, Hereford
St. George's Vicarage, Shrewsbury
11, Stanley Place, Chester
. Meillionen, Hoole, Chester
Longley, Mrs Dinham House, Ludlow
♦MacCormick, Rev. F., F.S.A. Wrock wardine Wood Rectory, Welling-
Scot. Newell, Rev. E. J., M.A.
Owen, John, Esq. Pilley, Walter, Esq. . ♦Royden, E. B., Esq. Swainson, Rev. J. G.
Taylor, Henry, Esq., F.S.A. Woodall, Edward, Esq.
ton, Salop
Neen Solars Vicarage, Cleobury Mor- timer, Salop
Tawelan, Newton Lane, Chester
The Barton, Hereford [head
Blyth Lodge, Bromborough, Birken-
Wistanstow Rectory, Craven Arms, S.O., Salop
12, Curzon Park, Chester
Wingthorpe, Oswestry
CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 17
CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES.
The Society of Antiqnaries, Burlington House, London (c/o W. H.
St. John Hope, Esq.) The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Queen Street Museum, Edin- burgh (c/o Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D.) The Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland (c/o R. H. Cochrane, Esq.,
F.S.A., 6, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin) The British Archaeological Association, Brooklyn Lodge, Mill Hill,
Barnes, S.W. (c/o R. H. Forster, Esq.) The ArchsBological Listitute of Great Britain and Ireland, 20, Hanover
Square, W. (c/o The Secretary) The Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Copenhagen The Royal Institution of Cornwall, Truro (c/o Major T. Parky n) The Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Cambridge The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archseologioal Society (The Society's
Library, Eastgate, Gloucester) The Chester Archaeological and Historical Society (c/o I. E. Ewen, Esq.,
Grosrenor Museum, Chester) The Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (c/o F.
Goyne, Esq., Shrewsbury) The Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society, Kendal Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne (R. Blair, Esq., F.S.A.) La Soci^t^ d'Arch^ologie de Bruxelles, Rue Ravenstein 11, Bruxelles The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C, U.S.A. The Library, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
British Museum (Copyright Department), Great Russell Street, W.C. The University Libraries (4), c/o G. W. Eccles, Esq., Rugby Chambers Chapel Street, W.C.
All Members residing in South Wales and Monmouthshire are requested to forward their subscriptions to the Rev. Charles Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth. All other Members to the Rev. Canon R. Trevor Owen, F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, Flintshire, S.O.
As it is not impossible that omissions or errors may exist in the above list, corrections will be thankfully received by the General Secretaries.
The Annual Subscription is One Guinea, payable in advance on the first day of the year.
Members loishing to retire must give six months notice previous to the first day of the following year, at the same time paying all arrears.
All communications with regard to the Archceologia Cambrensis should be addressed to the Editor, Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S.A., 4, Warwick Square, London, S. W.
18 r^ws.
LAWS
OP Tits
Cambrian Archaeological ^LMotintion.
Established 1846,
In oi'der to Eaximinej Preserve, and Illustrate the Ancient Monuments and
Remains of the History^ Language, Manners, Customs,
and Arts of Wales and the Marches.
CONSTITUTION.
1. The AsflooiatioxL shall consist of Subscribing, Corresponding, and Hono-
rary Members, of whom the Honorary Members must not be British subjects.
ADMISSION.
2. New members may be enrolled by the Chairman of the Committee, or by
either of tihe General Secretaries ; but their election is not oomplete until it shall have been confirmed by a General Meeting of the Associa- tion.
GOVBBNMENT.
3. The Goyemment of the Association is vested in a Committee consisting
of a President, Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, a Chairman of Committee, the General and Local Secretaries, and not less than twelve, nor more than fifteen, ordinary sub.=^cribing members^, three of whom shall retire annually according to seniority.
ELECTION.
4. The Vice-Presidents shall be chosen for life, or as long as they remain
members of the Association. The President and all other oflicers shall be chosen for one year, but shall be re-eligible. The officers and new members of Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meet- ing. The Committee shall recommend candidates; but it shall be open to any subscribing member to propose other candidates, and to demand a poll. All officers and members of the Committee shall be chosen from the subscribing members.
THE CHAIB.
6. At all meetings of the Committee the chair shall be taken by the Presi- dent, or, in his absence, by the Chairman of the Committee.
CHAIRMAN OF THS COMMITTEE.
6. The Chairman of the Committee shall superintend the business of the Association during the intervals between the Annual Meetings ; and he shall have power, with the concurrence of one of the General Secre- taries, to authorise proceedings not specially provided for by the laws. A report of his proceedings shall be laid before the Committee for their approval at the Annual General Meeting.
LAWS. 1 9
EDITORIAL SUB-GOMMITTES.
7. There shall be an Editorial Sub-Committee, consiflting of at least three members, who sliall superintend the publications of the Association, and shall report their proceedings annually to the Committee.
BTTBSOBIPTION.
8. All Subsoribing Members shall pay one guinea in advance, on the 1st of January in each year, to the Treasurer or his banker (or to either of the General Secretaries).
WITHDBAWAL.
9. Members wishing to withdraw from the Association must give six months* notice to one of the General Secretaries, and must pay all arrears of subscriptions.
PUBLICATIONS.
10. All Subscribing and Honorary Members shall be entitled to receive all the publications of the Association issued after their election (except any special publication issued under its auspioes), together with a ticket giving free admission to the Annual Meeting.
BECBETABIBS.
11. The Secretaries shall forward, once a month, all subscriptions received by them to the Treasurer.
TBEABTTBEB.
12. The accounts of the Treasurer shall be made up annually, to December 81st; and as soon afterwards as may be convenient, they shall be audited by two subscribing members of the Association, to be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. A balancC'^heet of the said accounts , certified by the Auditors, shall be printed and issued to the members.
BILLS.
13. The funds of the Association shall be deposited in a bank in the name of the Treasurer of the Association for the time being ; and all bills due from the Association shall be countersigned by one of the General Secretaries, or by the Chairman of the Committee, before they are paid by the Treasurer.
OOMMITTEB-MBETIKO.
14. The Committee shall meet at least once a year for the purpose of nomi- nating officers, framing rules for the government of the Association, and transacting any oti^er business that may be brought before it.
GENERAL MEETING.
16. A General Meeting shall be held annually for the transaction of the business of the Association, of which due notice shall be given to the members by one of the General Secretaries.
BPBOIAL MEETING.
16. The Chairman of the Committee, with the concurrence of one of the General Secretaries, shall have power to call a Special Meeting, of which at least three weeks* notice shall be given to each member by one of the General Secretaries.
QUORUM.
17. At all meetings of the Committee five shall form a quorum,
20 LAWS.
CHAIBMAN.
18. At the Annoal Meeting the President, or, in his absence, one of the
Vice-Presidents, or the Chairman of the Committee, shall take the chair ; or, in tiieir absence, the Committee may appoint a chairman.
OASTIVO VOTE.
19. At all meetings of the Association or its Committee, the Chairman shall
have an independent as well as a casting yote.
BBPOBT.
20. The Treasurer and other officers shall report their proceedings to the
General Committee for approval, and the General Committee shall report to the Ajinoal General Meeting of Subscribing Members.
TICKETS.
21. At the Annoal Meeting, tickets admitting to excursions, exhibitions,
and evening meetings, shall be issued to Subscribing and Honorary Members gratuitonsly, and to corresponding Members at such rates as may be fixed by the officers.
ANNUAL MEETING.
22. The superintendence of the arrangements for the Annual Meeting shall
be under the direction of one of the General Secretaries in conjunction with one of the Local Secretaries of the Association for the district, and a Local Committee to be approved of by such General Secretary.
LOCAL EXPENSES.
23. All funds subscribed towards the local expenses of an Annual Meeting
shall be ^uiid to the Joint account of the General Secretary acting for that Meeting and a Local Secretary ; and the Association shall not be liable for any expense incurred without the sanction of such General Secretary.
AUDIT OF LOCAL EXPENSES.
24. The accounts of each Annual Meeting shall be audited by the Chairman
of the Local Committee, and the balance of receipts and expenses on each occasion be received, or paid, by the Treasurer of the Association, such audited accounts being sent to him as soon after the meeting as popsible.
ALTBBATIONS IN THE BULES.
25. Any Subscribing Member may propose alterations in the Rules of the
Association ; but such alteration must be notified to one of the General Secretaries at least one month before the Annual Meeting, and he shall lay it before the Committee ; and if approved by the Committee, it shall be submitted for confirmation at the next Meeting.
(Signed) C. C. Babinoton, August 17th, 1876. Chairman of the Committee.
h
Siztk Sniei, VoL VIII, Put 1.
Irrlia^nlngia Caintasii
JOURNAL
Cnmbrian lrr|»nlDgirnl IsHoriqtiira.
JANUAHY, 1908.
[I8SCB0 qOABTEBLT TO MEHBKBS ONLY.]
•s^
LONDON :
Vnbliftub for the Sambnan Jlrfhxologtritl jL»»ad«tt«n bf
OHAELES 3. OLABK,
85, CHANCERY I.ANE, K.C.
UST OF OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
Pr€iident,SlR RICHAAD U. WILLIAMS BULKELET, Babt.
T1>e Prendeota of preeent and part yean ; the Pmadent-Eleci ; the Vioe-Plreaideiita ; the Treasurer ; the Oenenl and Local SecretaxieB, and the Editorial
Sab-Commitiee. The Yen. Archdeaoon Thomaa, M.A., F.&A., Ckminman.
jUfred Neobaid Palmer, Eeq. John Waid, Esq., F.& A
Sdward Owen, £m). Mra. Allen.
Wtjd Nichol, Eaq., F.S. A. Thoa. MAnael Franklen, Eeq.
H. Harold Hughes, Esq. The Rer. John Fisher, B.D.
Profe«or Anwyl, K.A R<>t. E. J. Newell.
Profeasor Lloyd, M.A Rev E. Evans.
Ptolessor Powel, M.A D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq.
iUOor.— Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S.A
BdUorial Sub-Cammtttee. Sir John Bhya, M.A, LL.D. Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, M.A., F.&A.
Arcbdeaoon Thomas, M.A, F.S.A. Professor Anwyl, M.A
Trmntrer. — CoL W. L. Moigan, R.E., BrynbriaUu, Swansea.
TruUui.
R. H. Wood, Esq., F.S.A W. R M. Wynne, Esq.
Colonel W. Gwynne Hughes.
Oenenl SecretaHa. R«T. Canon Trevor Owen, Bodelwyddan Vicaraga, Rhuddlan, 8.0.
North Wales. Rer. Charles Chidlow, MA., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth.
/>ratvAtomaR.^Wortliington G. Smith, Esq., F.L.a
Corresponding Memhtrt, M. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen.
M. de Keranflech Kemezne, Ch&teau de Quelenec, Mur de Bietagne, Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., Edinbuigh. [C6tes du Nord, France. R Cochrane, I.S.O., F.S.A., LL.D. Edwyn Parkyn, Esq., Royal Institution, Tniro. The Rev. 8. Baring-Qould.
Ltoeol SecreUiriet,
. . . J. E. Griffith, Esq., F.R AS., F.I^S.,BiynDinas, Upper Bangor.
Professor J. Morris Jones, Tycoch, Uanfair, P.O.
S. J. Evans, Esq., M. A, County School, Llangefni . Edward Roberta, Esq., M.A., Plas Maeaincla, Carnarvon.
T. E. Morris, Esq., LL.M., 24, Lombard Street, Portmadoe.
Charles E. fireese, Esq., 4, Marine Terrace, Portmadoa . A. Foulkea-ltoberts, Esq., 34. Vale Street, Denbigh.
Rev. C. F. Roberts, M.A., Llanddulas Rectoiy, Abeigele.
Rev. W. U. Nicholas, M.A., The Rectory, Flint
L. J. Roberts, Esq., H.M.I.S., Tegfan, RhyL
Rev. J. E. Davies. M.A., The Rectory, Uwyngwril.
R Jones Morris, Esq., "l^cerrig, Talsarnau.
J. Bancroft Willans, Esq., Dolforgan, Keny. . Lieut.-Col. Gamons- Williams, Ty Mawr, Brecon.
Herbert J. Allen, Esq., Tenby. . J. H. Davies, Esq., M.A., Cwrtmawr, Abeiystwith.
H. M. Vaughan, Esq., Plas Uangoedmore. . Alan J. Stepney-Qulston, Esq., Derwydd. Llandebia.
Roy. D. H. Davies, Ffinant, Newcastle Emlyn.
D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq., Brynmaen, Llandeilo.
Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A, Univernty CoUege, Caidiff.
Charles Wilkins, Esq., F.G.a, Sprmgfield, Merthyr TydflL
T. H. Thomas, Esq., RC.A, 45, The Walk, Caidiff
France .
Brittany
Scotland
Ireland
ComvHiN
Anyltiey
Catnarvointhirt
Henbighahire . .
FlinUhire . . .
MerUmtthikire
Montffomeryikirt . Brecknockshire Pembrokeshire Cdrdiganshire .
(Mmutrthensh ire
Glamorganshire
Madnorskire . Alonmo^ihshire
T%€ Mairckss •
Joseph A Bradney, Esq., Talycoed, Monmouth.
A £. Bowen, Esq., Town HaU, PontypooL
James Daviea, Esq., Qwyn£a» Broomy Hill, Heraford.
Rev. C. H. Drinkwater. M.A., St. George's Vicarage, Shr«w«biirT.
Homy Taylor, Esq., F.aA, Curson Park, Chertv.
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PUBLICATIONS
OF TUB
Cambrian ^.u^aological %$Batmiian,
Membere. Non-Mmbrt.
Ardueolo^^ Cambrensis, the Journal of the Society, Third Seriee, 16 voIb., 1865 to 1869, cloth boards, let- tcored (Tola. 1, 2 and 4 are oot of print) . per vol.
Fourth Series, 14 yols., 1870 to 1888 „
Fifth Series, 1884 to 1900 ...»
Sixth Series, Quarterly Parts, from 1901 to 1907 each
Original Docnments, Vol. I. — Included in Vols, from 1871 to 1877.
Celtic Remains, by Lewis Mobbis. — Included in the Abch. Camb., from 1878 to 1878.
Bmt J Tywysogion : the Gwentian Chronicle of Caradoo of Llancarvan. With a Translation by the late Akeubin Owen, Esq. Included in Abch. Cams, for 1864.
The Lordship of Gower in the Marches of Wales, by
Gbobob Gbamt Fbangis, F.S.A. Three Parte .090 126
Baronia de Kemeys. From the Original Documents at
Bronwydd . . .030076
Cesta Regum Britanniae. A Metrical History of the
Britons, of the Thirteenth Century . . .060 0 10 6
The Land of Mornn. Being a Contribution towards the History of me Lordship of Glamorgan. By G. T. Ci^ABK, F.S.A. . . . .080076
General Index to the first Four Series of Abchjbolooia
Cambbbnsis . . . . . .0760 10 fi
General Index to the Fifth Series .040056
Thb Subscription of Members is One Guinea, due annually on January 1st, and should be paid as soon as possible after that date, in order that the Members may be entitled to receive the numbers of the Journal, which will not be sent to Members in arrear. Members residing in South Wales and Monmouthshire are requested to remit the same, bp Post Office Order or Cheque^ to the Rev. Ohablbs Ohidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth; and all other Members to the Bey. Canon Tbsyob Owbn, M.A., F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
Members not reoeiying their Numbers of the Archceologia Cam- hremis are requested to inform the General Secretary to whom they haye paid their subscriptions.
The Rules, and List of Members of the Association, may be obtained from the Rey. Oanon Treyor Owen, F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
All oommunications for the Editor are to be addressed to Canon RUPERT MORRIS, D.D., F.S.A., 4^ Warwick Square, London, S.W.
CONTENTS.
PAOJB
The £ftrly Settlers of Anglesey. By Profeasor Anwyl 1
RomMi Cardiff. By John Ward, P.S.A 29
Report of Sixty-First Annual Meeting, held at Llangefni, August, 1907 ...65-109
Excursion 1 66-78
Evening Meeting 78-82
Excursion 2 82-91
Bicursion 8 91-94
Excursion 4 94-103
Report of Committee 104-107
Business Meeting 107
Editorial 109
Rbvikws and Noticks op Books. — " Church Book of St. Mary, Tenby."
— " A Treatise on the Law Concerning Names and Changes of Name." 110
Short Notices 113
Arohjk)LOGICal Notks and Qubbibs. — Bronze Implements from the Shores of Milford Hayen. — Roman Coins on Little Orme's Head. — Copper Cakes, South Carnarvonshire. — Pentraeth Barrow and Tumuli. — Inscribed Stone, Llanllwni. — Morrusiaid Memorial Fund. — A New Society for Research in Wales 114-120
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait of the late J. Romilly Allen, F.S. A Frontispiece
Roman Cardiff :
Cardiff Castle, Bank 38,34
Plan 86,37,46
Roman Roads 41
Roman Wall,* Bastions, Qateway (Seven Plates) 48,50
Llangefni Meeting :
BrynCelUDdu Cromlech (Two Plates) 66,68
Llanidan Church 78
Llangeinwen Font 75
Ty'n Rhosydd Stone (Plate) 84
Din Lligwy (Two Platea) 86
Penrhos Lligwy, Maocudeoceti Stone 89
Shaft of Cross 90
Doorway, Llanddyfnan Churoh (Plate) 92
Uanfihiuigel Din Sylwy Church 93
Llanbabo Church 94
Doorway 95
King Pabo Slab and Font (Plat*) 96
Llanfechell Church 98
Doorway 99
Font 100
Uaneilian Dog-fork 102
Effigy, Tenby Church : John White (Plate) 110
*,* Wanted, by the Committee of the C. A. A., VoL IV of the First Series (1849), and Vols. I and II of the Third Series (1855 and i^) of the '* Ardueolog^ia Cambrensis," to complete an official set of the pttblicattons of the Society, to be kept for purposes of reference. Members willing: to make donations of any of the vokuies reqitiredt or exchange them for later volumes still in stock, are requested to communicate with the Editor.
Oloth Gasob for Binding the Volume of the ArchtEologia Oambrmuu for 1907 may now be obtained of the Publisher, Charlks J. Clakk, ^, Chancery Lane, W.C. Price la. 3d.
All communications with regjard to the purchase of hack nnmbers of the *' Archeologia Cambrensis" should be made to the Publisher and NOT to the Editor.
J
If sent in error, to be returned to Charlrs J. Clark, 66, Chancery Lane, W.C.
Sixth Sariei, Vol. Tni, Put 2.
Slrrfi^nlnp Camtonsii
JOURNAL
Cflinliriira lrr!)»olngiral l00nriatinn.
APRIL, 1908.
[IBBDBD qtJA^BTBBLT TO MEUBERS ONLY.]
LONDON :
9tibli«hcli foe thf ^mbtian ^trchaoLogiral Jlaaonstun bji CHABLES J. OLARK,
65, CHANCERY LANE, W.C.
"sa
UST OF OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
President,— Sm RICHARD H. WILLIAMS-BULKELEY, Babt.
Committee.
The PrMidentB of present and past years ; the President-Eleot ; the Vice-Presidents ;
the Treasurer ; the General and Local Secretaries, and the Editorial
Sub-Committee. Th6 Yen* ArdidBacon Thomas, M.A.^ F.S.A.t C^UMnmifh*
Alfred Neobavd Fklmer, Esq. John Ward, Esq., F.S. A.
Edward Owen, Esq. Mrs. Allen.
ntyd Kichol, Esq., F.S.A. Thos. Hansel Franklen, Esq.
H. Harold Hughes, Esq. ' The Rev. John Fisher, B.D. i
Professor Anwyl, M,A. Rev. E. J. Newell.
Professor Lloyd, M.A. Rev. E. Evans.
Professor Powel, M.A. D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq.
Editor. — Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S^A.
Editorial Sub-CommiUee. Sir John Rhys, M.A., LL.D. Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, M.A., K.S.A.
Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S. A. Professor Anwyl, M. A.
Treamrer. — Col. W. L. Morgan, R.E., Brynbriallu, Swansea.
Trtttteei.
R. H. Wood, Esq., F.S.A. W. R. M. Wynne, Esq.
Colonel W. Gwynne Hughes.
Oenei^al Secretaries. Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O.
North Wales. Rev. Charles Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth. Draughtsman. — Worthington Q. Smith, Esq., F.L.S.
Corresponding Members. M. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen.
M. de Eeranflech Kernezne, ChAteau de Queleneo, Mur de Bretagne, Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., Edinburgh. [C6tes du Nord, France. R. Cochrane, I.S.O., F.S.A., LL.D. Edwyu Parkyn, Esq., Royal Institution, Truro. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould.
Local Secretaries. . . . J. E. Griffith, Esq., F.R.A.S., F.L.S.,Bryn Dinas,Upper Bangor.
Professor J. Morris Jones, Tycoch, Llanfair, P.G.
S. J. Evans, Esq., M.A, County School, LlangefnL
Edward Roberts, Esq., M.A., Plas Maesincla, Carnarvon.
T. E. Morris, Esq., LL.M., 24, Lombard Street, Portmadoc.
Charles E. Breese, Esq. , 4, Marine Terrace, Portmadoc
A. Foulkes-Roberts, Esq., 34, Vale Street, Denbigh.
Rev. C. F. Roberts, M.A., Llanddulas Rectory, Abergele.
Rev. W. LI. Nicholas, M.A., The Rectory, Flint
L. J. Roberts, Esq., H.M.I. S., Tegfan, Rhyl.
Rev. J. E. Davies, M.A., The Rectory, Llwyngwril,
R. Jones Morris, Esq., Tycerrig, Talsamau.
J. Bancroft Willans, Esq., Dolforgan, Kerry.
Lieut. -Col. Gamons- Williams, Ty Mawr, Brecon.
Herbert J. Alien, Esq., Tenby.
J. H. Davies, Esq., M.A., Cwrtmawr, Aberystwyth,
H. M. Vaughan, Esq., Plas Llangoedmore.
Alan J. Stepney-Gulston, Esq., Derwydd, Llandebie.
Rev. D. H. Davies, Ffinant, Newcastle Emlyn.
D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq., Brynmaen, Llandeilo.
Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A., University CoU^e, Cardiff.
Charles Wilkins, Esq., F.G.S., Springfield, Merthyr TydfiL
T. H. Thomas, Esq., R.C.A., 45, The Walk, Cardiff
France . Brittany Scotland Ireland Com wall
Anglesey . .
Carnarvonshire
Denbighshire . .
^intshire . . .
Merionethshire
Montgom£rythire . Brecknockshire Pembrokeshire Cardiganshire .
Carmarthenshire Glamorganshire .
Radnorshire . M onm,outh sJi ire
The Marches .
Joseph A Bradney, Esq., Talycoed, Monmouth.
A. E. Bowen, Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool.
James Davies, Esq., Gwynfa, Broomy Hill, Hereford.
Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, M.A., St. Geox^e's Vicarage, Shrewsbury.
Henry Taylor, Esq., F.S.A., Curzon Park, Cheater.
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PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
Memberg. Non-M;mbrB* £ a. d. £ f. (f.
Ardueologia Cambrensis, the Journal of the Society, Third Series, 15 vols., 1855 to 1869, cloth boards, let- tered (vols. 1, 2 and 4 are out of print) . per vol.
Fourth Series, 14 vols., 1870 to 1883 . „
Fifth Series, 1884 to 1900 . . . „
Sixth Series, Quarterly Farts, from 1901 to 1907 each
Original Documents, Vol. I. — Included in Vols, from 1871 to 1877.
Celtic Remains, by Lewis Mobbis.— Included in the Abgh. Gamb., from 1878 to 1878.
Brut 7 Tywysog^on : the Gwentian Chronicle of Caradoc of lilancarvan. With a Translation by the late Akeubin Owek, Esq. Included in Aboh. Gamb. for 1864.
The Lordship of Gower in the Marches of Wales, by
Geobge Gbant Fbanois, F.S.A. Three Parts .090 126
Baronia de Kemeys. From the Original Documents at
Bronwydd . . . . . . .080076
Gesta Regum Britanniae. A Metrical History of the
Britons, of the Thirteenth Gentury . . .050 0 10 6
The Land of Morean. Being a Gontribution towards the History of the Lordship of Glamorgan. By G. T. Glabk, F.S.A. . . . . . .080076
Geperal Index to the first Four Series of ABCHiBOLOOiA
Gambbensis . . . . . .076 0 10 6
General Index to the Fifth Series .040056
Thx SubBcription of Members is One Guinea, due annually on January let, and should be paid as soon as possible after that date, in order that the Members may be entitled to receive the numbers of the Journal, which will not be sent to Members in arrear. Members residing in South Wales and Monmouthshire are request.ed to remit the same, by Post Office Order or Cheque, to the Rev. Charles Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth; and all other Members to the Rev. Canon Trevob Owen, M.A., P.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
Members not receiving their Numbers of the Archceologia Cam- brensis are requested to inform the General Secretary to whom they have paid their subscriptions.
The Rules, and List of Members of the Association, may be obtained from the Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
All communications for the Editor are to be addressed to Canon RUPERT MORRIS, D.D., F.S.A., 4, Warwick Square, London, S.W.
CONTENTS.
PAOB
The Early Settlers of Anglesey. By Professor An wyl 121
The Flemish Bell of St. Nicholas at Nichoiaston Church, Gower.
By Geobok E. Hallidat, F.R.I.B.A. 149
The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh. By Alfrbd Nbobard Palmer 155
The Excavations at Din Lligwy. B^ E. Neil Batnbs, F.S.A 188
Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, Pentraeth. By Harold Hughes 211
Reviews and Notices op Booes.— "The History of St. Dogmael's Abbey." — " The Lives of the British Saints."—** The Place Names of Decies."
— "A Short Account of St. Gregory's Minster." 221
Aroeleolooical Notes and Quebies.— Roman CardiiT. — The Safe-keeping of Local Antiquities. — Domestic Chapel, Abeigavenny. — Discovery of Copper Cakes in South Carnarvonshire. — Stone Hammer, South Carnarvonshire. — Earthen Vessel, Cardiganshire. — Blaengwenog Barrow, Cardiganshire. — The Brohomagli Inscribed Stone at Voelas Hall.— "Maesnonni" Inscribed Stone 227
ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Flemish Bell of St. Nicholas at Nichoiaston Church, Gower 150-153
The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh:
South View of Holt Castle: Buck's Print, c. 1750 162
Holt Castle, 1905 162
The Excavations at Din Lligwy :
Plan (Plate) 184
Finds, I 187
Chamber No. 2, from the South-East and South-West 189
Chamber No. 2, Interior showing Niche 190
Finds, II 192
Panoramic View, showing North-East Corners of Chambers during
Excavations (Folding Plate) 192
Finds, III 195
Chamber No. 4, Interior showing South-East Comer and Entrance 197
Chamber No. 4, from the South 198
Chamber No. 5, showing North- West Corner and Entrance 200
Merddyn Gwyn Barrow, Pentraeth:
Excavation of Merddyn Gwyn Barrow 212
Plan of Barrow 213
Drinking-cup 214,215
Fragments found 216,218
Discovery of Copper Cakes in South Carnarvonshire:
Sea-shore where Copper Cakes were found 229
Stamps on Copper Cakes 280
Copper Cakes 231,232
Brohomagli Inscribed Stone at Voelas Hall 234
" Maesnonni" Inscribed Stone 286
*,* Wanted, by the Committee of the C. A. A., Vol. IV of the First (1849), and Vols. I and II of the Third §tries (1855 '^^ 1856) of the '* Archaeologia Cambrensis," to complete an ofiSoal set of the publications of the Society, to be kept for purposes of reference. Members willing^ to make donations of any of the TOlumes required, or exchange them for later volumes still in stock, are requested to communicate with the Editor.
Cloth Gases for Binding the Volume of the ArchoRologia Cambremis for 1907 may now be obtained of the Publisher, Charles J. Olulk, 65, Chancery Lane, W.O. Price Is. 3d.
Ail communications with reg^ard to the purchase of back numbers of the *'Archaeologia Cambrensis" should be made to the Publisher and NOT to the Editor.
If sent in error, to be returned to Charles J. Clark, 66, Chancery Lane, W.C.
r
Sixth Ssriei, Vol. Vm, Part !
Srrlielnp Canilirms,
JOURNAL
Cmnbrifln IrrliKnlngirnl l»0nriotioii.
tISSDKD QDARTBBLT TO MEHBBB8 ONLY.]
LONDON :
9nbli«hcb for the Cumbrian ^tthaolAipcxl S^**aaaiion bg
GHABLES J. OLABK,
6G, CHANCERT LANE, W.C.
"^
UST OF OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
PrtMenL^SlR RICHARD H. WILLIAMS-BULEELET, Babs.
CammiUee.
The PrMidenU of preBent and past yean ; the Preeident-Elect ; the Vice-Prendente ;
thelVeaiurer ; the General and Local Secretaries, and the Editorial
Sub-Committee. The Yen. Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S.A., CAairoum. Alfred Neobard Palmer, Esq. John Ward, Esq., F.aA.
Edward Owen, Esq. Mrs. Allen.
Iltyd Nichol, Esq., F.S.A. Thos. Mansel Franklen, Esq.
H. Harold Hughes, Esq. The Rev. John Fisher, B.D.
Professor Anwyl, M.A. Rev. E. J. Newell.
IVofessor Lloyd, M.A. Rev. E. Evans.
Professor Powel, M. A D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq.
EdAior. — Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.8.A.
Editorial Suh-CommiUee. Sir John Rhys, M.A., LL.D. Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, M.A., F.S.A.
Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S.A. Professor Anwyl, M.A.
Treoiurer, — CoL W. L. Morgan, R.E., Brynbriallu, Swansea.
TrustecM, W. R. M. Wynne, Esq. Colonel W. Owynne Hughes.
Oeneral Secretariet, Rev. Canon IVevor Owen, Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan« S.O.
North Wales. Rev. Charles Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberth.
DraughUman, — Worthington G. Smith, Esq., F.L.S.
Corrupcnding Membert, M. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen.
M. de Eeranflech Kemezne, Ch&teau de Quelenec, Mur de Bretagne, Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., Edinburgh. [Cdtes du Nord, Fhmoe. R. Cochrane, LS.O., F.S.A., LL.D. Edwyn Parkyn, Esq., Royal Institution, Truro. The Rev. S. Baring-Oould.
Local Secretaries^ . . . J. E. Griffith, E8q.,F.R.A.S.,F.US.,BrynDina8, Upper Bangor. Professor J. Morris Jones, Tycoch, Lljuifair, P.G. S. J. Evans, Esq., M.A., County School, Llangefni. Edward Roberts, Esq., M.A., Plas Maesincla, Carnarvon. T. E. Morris, Esq., LL.M., 24, Lombard Street, Portmadoc Charles E. Breese, Esq., 4, Marine Terrace, Portmadoa A. Foulkes-Roberts, Esq., 34, Vale Street, Denbigh. Rev. C. F. Roberts, M.A., Llanddulas Rectoxy, Abergele. Rev. W. LI. Nicholas, M.A., The Rectory, Flint L. J. Roberts, Esq., H.M.I.S., Tegfan, RhyL Rev. J. £. Daviea, Ai.A., The Rectory, LlwyngwriL R. Jones Morris, Esq., Tycerrig, Talsajnau. J. Bancroft Willans, Esq., Dolforgan, Kerry. Lieut.-CoL Gamous* Williams, Ty Mawr, Brecon. Herbert J. Allen, Esq., Tenby. J. H. Davies, E^q., M.A., Cwrtmawr, Aberystwyth. H. M. Vaughan, Esq., Plas Llangoedmore. Alan J. Stepney- Qulston, Esq., Derwyddj Llandebie. Rev. D. H. Davies, Ffinant, Newcastle Emlyn. D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq., Brynmaen, Llandeilo. Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A., University College, Cardi£ Charles Wilkins, Esq., F.G.S., Springfield, Merthyr Tydfil T. H. Thomas, Esq., RCA., 45, The Walk, Cardii!;
Franu .
Brittany
Scotland
IriUmd
OomyfoU
AngUuy
Oamarvonthirt .
Denbighthire . .
Flintshire . . .
Meriomththire
MontgofMryihire . Brteknockskire Pimbrokeikire Oardiganthire
Oarmartkmthire . Otamorgamhire .
Radnonhire . Monmouthikire
TkiMwrcku •
Joseph A. Bradneyi Esq., Talycoed, Monmouth.
A. E. Bowen, Esq., Town Hail, Pontypool.
James Davies, Ei^., Gwynfa, Broomy HiU, Hereford.
Rev. C. H. Drinkwater, M. A., St. Geoige's Vicarage, Shrewibury.
Henry Taylor, Esq., F.S.A., Curzon Park, Cheater.
ff
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PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
€umhxim %xc)^TXolaQml %smxisiixm.
Membera. Non-Mmbri*
Ardueologia Cunbrensis, the Journal of the Society, Third Series, 16 yoIb., 1855 to 1869, cloth boards, let- tered (Tols. 1, 2 and 4 are oat of print) per rol.
Fourth Series, 14 yolff., 1870 to 1888
Fifth Series, 1884 to 1900 .
Sixth Series, Quarterly Parts, from 1901 to 1907 each
Origfifial DocumeiitSy Vol. L — ^Included in Vols, from 1871 to 1877.
Celtic Remains, by Liswis Mobbib. — Indnded in the Abch. Game., from 1878 to 1878.
Bmt J Tywysog^on : the Gwentian Chronicle of Oaradoo of Llanoarvan. With a Translation by the late Akbubin Owen, Esq. Inclnded in Abch. Oamb. for 1864.
The Lordship of Gower in the Marches of Wales, by
Geobge Gbant Fbanois, F.S.A. Three Parte .090 126
Baronia de Kemeys. From the Original Documents at
Bronwydd . . . . .080076
Gesta Regum Britanniae. A Metrical History of the
Britons, of the Thirteenth Century . . .050 0 10 6
The Land of Morgan. Being a Contribution towards the History of t£e Lordship of Glamorgan. By G. T. Clabk, F.S.A. . . . . . .080076
General Indeit to the first Four Series of Abohjbologia
Cambbbnsis . . . .0760 10 6
General Index to the Fifth Series .040056
Thb Subscription of Members is One Guinea, due annually on January Ist, and should be paid as soon as possible after that date, in order that the Members may be entitled to receiye the numbers of the Journal, which wiU not be sent to Members in arrear. Members residing in South Wales and Monmouthshire are requested to remit the same, by Post Office Order or Cheque, to the Rev. Ohables Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Vicarage, Narberthf and all other Members to the Eey. Oanok Tbsyob Owbn, M.A., F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Ticarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
Members not receiving their Numbers of the ArehcBologia Camr brenns are requested to inform the General Secretary to whom they have paid their subscriptions.
The Rules, and List of Members of the Association, may be obtained from the Rev. Oanon Trevor Owen, F.S.A., Bodelwyddan Vicarage, Rhuddlan, S.O., North Wales.
All communicatioiis for the Editor are to be addressed to Canon RUPERT MORRIS, D.D., F.S.A., 4^ Warwick Square, London, ^S.W.
CONTENTS.
PAOB
An lalaDd of the Saints. By the Rev. W. Done Bubhsll, M.A.) F.S.A 287
Antiquities on the Sandhills at Merthyr Mawr, Glamorganahire. By M.
EvANSON, B.Sc 261
Qlazed Pebbles in an Old Building near Llanbedr. By C. E. Bbbesb 267
The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh. By Alfbbd Nbobabd Palmbb 278
Revibws and Notiobs of ]3ook8.— "Qleanings after Time : Chapters in Social and Domestic History." — "The History of the Diocese of
St Asaph." 284
Archjeolooioal Notes and Queries. — Soman Buildings at Qlasfryn, Tremadoc, Carnarvonshire. — Oratory, Hospital S. Mary, Traethurtro. — Llanidan Church, Anglesey. — Tenby Parish Church. — Gunter*s House, Abergavenny. — Stone Implements, Anglesey. — Exploration of Tumuli, near Gaerwys, Flintshire. — Carmarthenshire and Antiquarian Society. — Find at Din Sylwy. — Merddyn Qwyn Barrow, Pentraeth. —
Annual Meeting at Monmouth 287
Cambrian ArchiBological Association Balance Sheets 298, 299
0BITX7ABT NOTIOKS .'
Richard Henry Wood, F.S.A., F.R.G.S. SOO
William Trevor Parkins, M. A 802
ILLUSTEATIONS.
Richard Henry Wood, P.S.A., F.R.G.S. (Plate) 287
An Island of the Saints :
Caldey Island and St. Margaret's from the Mainland 288
The Village Church, Caldey Island 242,248
The Priory Chapel, Interior 244
Chancel Arch of the Village Church 246
Caldey Stone 249
Caldey Priory 260
Priory Tower and Gateway from the Exterior 262
Priory Tower and Gkbteway from the Cloister Garth 268
Recumbent Figure found with a Reliquary 267
Ruined Buildings on St. Margaret's Island 269
Antiquities on the Sandhills at Merthyr Mawr :
Relative Positions of Cist, Crematorium and Cross to Windmill 261
Sandhill Cross : 262
Cist at Merthyr Mawr 268
Crematorium 264
Cornish Hall, County Denbigh 276
Armorial Bearings at Llanidan Church, Anglesey 289
Stone Implements in Anglesey 298, 294
Inverted Urn Burial found near Caerwys, Flintshire 296
«,* Wanted, by the Committee of the C A. A., Vol IV of the First Series (1840), and Vols. I and II of the Third Series (z8« and 1856) of the '* Archeolos^ia Cambrensis/* to complete an official set of the publications of the Society, to be kept for purposes of reference. Members willing: to make donations of any of the Tolumes required, or exchange them for later Tolumes still 10 stock, are requested to communicate with the Editor.
Oloth Cases for Binding the Yolame of the ArcKctclogia Ocmhrenm for 1907 noay now be obtained of the Publisher, Charlss J. Clabk, 65, Chancery Lane, W.O. Price Is. 3d.
All communications with res^ard to the purchase of iMick numbers of the '' Archaeologia Cambrensis" should be made to the Publisher and NOT to the Editor.
If sent in error, to be returned to Chabuk J. CLAmK, 66, Chaneeiy Lane, W.C.
Sixth Serira, Vol. Vni, Fait i.
Srrlielnp CMtasii
JOURNAL
Coraliriini Irrjiwlogiral iHgnriotinn.
OCTOBER, 1908.
[ISBDBD qUABrTEBLT TO MEMBERS ONLY.]
WJc''
LONDON :
Sobluheb Cot the tSambrian ^ttKsologicsl Jteeonation bf
CHAELES J. OLAKK,
9S, CHANCERY LANE, W.C.
UST OF OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
^«^^^«*«^«^«M«^
PreiidefU,—TBE Rev. A. H. SAYCE, LL.D., Propbssob of AfiSTBiOLOOY.
Committee.
Tbe PrendentB of present and past yean ; the President-Elect ; the Vioe-Prendents ;
theTreaaurer ; the General and Local Secretaries, and the Editorial
Sub-Committee. The Yen. Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S.A., C%atrman.
Alfred Neobard Palmer, Esq. John Ward, Esq., F.S.A.
Edward Owen, Esq. Mrs. Allen.
Iltyd Nichol, Esq., F.S.A. Thos. Hansel Franklen, Esq.
H. Harold Hughes, Esq. The Rev. John Fisher, B.D.
Professor Anwyl, M.A. Rev, E. J. Newell.
Professor Lloyd, M.A. Rev. E. Evans.
Professor Powel, M.A. D. Lleufer Thomas, Elsq.
Editor. — Canon Rupert Morris, D.D., F.S.A.
Editorial Sub-Committee. Sir John Rhys, M.A., LL.D< Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, M.A., F.S.A.
Archdeacon Thomas, M.A., F.S.A. Professor Anwyl, M.A.
Treaturer. — Col. W. L. Morgan, R.E., Brynbriallu, Swansea.
Trusteet.
W. R. M. Wynne, Esq. Colonel W. Qwynne Hughes.
J. W. Willis -Bund, Esq., F.S.A.
General Secrttaiie*. Rev. Canon Trevor Owen, Bodelwyddan Yicarage, Rhuddlan, S.C
North Wales. Rev. Charles Chidlow, M.A., Llawhaden Yicarage, Narberth. Draught9man\-Vf ovlhvn^^oii 0. Smith, Esq., F.L.S.
Corresponding Memberi, France . . M. Charles Hettier, F.S.A., Caen.
Brittany . M. de Eeranflech Kemezne, Ch&teau de Queleneo, Mur de Bretagne, ScaHand . Joseph Anderson, Esq., LL.D., Ediubiirgh. [CdtesduNoid, Fhtnoe. Ireland . R. Cochrane, I.S.O., F.S.A., LL.D. ComwiU . Edwyn Parkyn, Esq., Royal Institution, Truro. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould.
Local Secretaries, J. E. Griffith, E8q.,F.R.A.8.,F.L.S.,Bryn Dmas, Upper Bangor. Professor J. Morris Jones, Tycoch, Llanfair, P.O. S. J. Evans, Esq., M.A., County School, Llangefni. Edward Roberts, Esq., M.A., Plas Maesincla, Carnarvon. T. E. Morris, Esq., LL.M., 24, Lombard Street, Portmadoc. Charles E. fireese, Esq., 4, Marine Terrace, Portmadoc A. Foulkes- Roberts, Esq., 34, Yale Street, Denbigh. Rev. C. F. Roberts, M.A., Llanddulas Rectory, Abei^gele. Rev. VV. IJ. Nicholas, M.A., The Rectory, Flint L. J. Roberts, Esq., H.M.I.S., Tegfan, Rhyl. !<ev. J. E. Davies, M.A., The Rectory, Llwyngwril, R. Jones Morris, Esq., Tycerrig, Talsarnau. J. Bancroft Willans, Esq., Dolf organ, Kerry. Lieut. -Col. Garnons- Williams, Ty Mawr, Brecon. Herbert J. AUeu, Esq., Tenby. J. H. Daviea, Esq., M.A., Cwrtmawr, Aberystwyth. H. M. Yaughan, Esq., Plas Llangoedmore. Alan J. Ste(>uey-Gulston, Esq., Derwyddf Llandebie. Rev. D. H. Davies, Ffinant, Newcastle Emlyn. D. Lleufer Thomas, Esq., Brynmaen, Llandeilo. Thomas Powel, Esq., M.A., University College, Cardiff. Charles Wilkins, Egq., K.G.S.. Springfield, Merthyr TjdfiL T. H. Thomas, Esq., R.C.A., 45, The Walk, Cardiff
Joseph A. Bradney, Esq., Talycoed, Monmouth.
A. E. Boweu, Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool.
James Davies, Esq., Qwynfa, Broomy Hill, Hereford.
Rev. C. H. Drinkwater. M.A., St. George's Yicarage, ShrewaUiry.
Henry Taylor, Esq., F.S.A., Curzon Park, Chester.
Anglesey . . .
Oamarvonehire .
Denhighihire , .
Flintshire . . .
Merionethshire
Montgomeryshire . Brecknockshire Pembrokeshire Cardigan^ire
Carmarthenshire . Glamorganshire .
Radnorshire . Monm/ottihtkire
The Mardus .
|
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PUBLICATIONS
or THS
Archaeologia Cambrensis, the Joamftl of the Society, Third Series, 15 vols., 1865 to 1869, cloth boards, let- tered (vols. 1, 2 and 4 are oat of print) . per vol.
Fourth Series, 14 vols., 1870 to 1883 . „
Fifth Series, 1884 to 1900 . . . „
Sixth Series, Quarterly Parts, from 1901 to 1907 each
Original Doctunents, Vol. L — ^Included in Vols, from 1871 TO 1877.
Celtic Remains, by Lewis ^Mobbib. — Inclnded in the Aboh. Cam b., from 1873 to 1878.
Brut 7 Tywysogion : the Gwentian Ghroniole of Garadoo of Llancarvan. With a Translation by the late Aneubin Owen, Esq. Included in Abch. Cams, for 1864.
The Lordship of Gower in the Marches of Wales, by
Geobgb Gbant Fbakcis, F.S.A. Three Parts .090 126
Baronia de Kemeys. From the Original Documents at
Bronwydd . . . . . .030076
Gesta Regnuii Britanniae. A Metrical History of the
Britons of the Thirteenth Century . . .050 0 10 6
The Land of Morc^. Being a Contribution towards the History of the Lordship of Glamorgan. By G. T. Clabk, F.S.A. . . . . . .080076
General Index to the first Four Series of ABCHiBOLOOiA
Cambbensis . . . . . .0760 10 6
General Index to the Fifth Series .040056
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CONTENTS.
PAQB
The Town of Holt, in County DeDbigh. By Alfred Neobard Palmer ... 805
Tinteni Abbey. By Jambs G. Wood, F.S.A. 346
The Bryngwyn Tumuli. By Philip Staplston, S.J 359
Monumental EfiQgies, Pembrokeehire. By E. Laws, F.S.A., and E. H.
Edwards 377
Berw 887
Riniws AND Notices of Books. — "A History of Kidwelly." — "Studies in Irish Epigraphy." — " Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot- land." 896
Archaological Notes and Queries. — The only Duke of Ireland. — Coffin found in Bangor Cathedral. — Font, Llanfair yn y Cwmwd, Anglesey. — Palaeolithic Stone Axe-head and other Stone Implements found near Beddgelert, — Roman Coin found near Portmadoc. — Hospital of St. Mary the Virgin in Ardudwy, Merionethshire. — Caerwent, 1908. — A Find in Carnarvonshire. — Stone Axes found near Cowbridge 400
Index to Volume VIII 408
List of Illustrations to Volume VIII 416
Title and Contents to Vol. VIII.
ILLUSTKATIONS.
The Town of Holt, in County Denbigh :
Holt Church 807,808,811
Cnie Acrostic Brass, Holt Church 810
Mason Marks in Holt Church 818
Font in Holt Church 816
Mitred Head now at Holt Hall 828
Slab of Jasper Peck 327
Shaft of Sun-dial in Holt Churchyard 382
Holt Bridge ...:. 842
The Bryngwyn Tumuli: Map and Plan 361, 364
Stone Hammer from Tumulus No. 2 368
View of Tumulus from South-West during Excavation 866
Pattern of Fragment of Urn 868
Detail of Secondary Interment 370
Inverted Urn 872
Details of Rim of Cinerary Urn 373
Monumental EfiSgies, Pembrokeshire:
Mailed Effigy at Upton 878
Effigy in St. David's Cathedral ... 881
Pryck-Spur 882
Effigy of a Mailed Figure at Lawrenny 883,884
f Borw:
The Mill Tower 388
^ Plas Berw from a Sketch in 18(51 389
Chapel at Llanfihangel Eskeiviog 890
Llanidan Old Church, 1861 892
Font, Llanidan Church 894
Coffin found in Bangor Cathedral 401
Font, Llanfair yn y Cwmwd, Anglesea 402, 403
Stone Axe-Head fouud near Beddgelert 404
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^rrhacalffjia Camlrrtnsis
TEN DAYS' TOUR
THROUGH
THE ISLE OF ANGLESEA
DECEMBER, 1802
REV. JOHN SKINNER
RBCTOR OP CAMBRTOM, SOMERSETSHIRE
SUFPLXMENT, JVLY, 1908. LONDON :
VuUistirt (III Ite Camtimn actlianiliigical a»(inat((in t;
CHAELES J. CLARK, 86, CHAHCERY lANE, W.C.